


The Heart Connection

by HuuskerDu



Category: Ai Yori Aoshi | Bluer Than Indigo, ココロコネクト | Kokoro Connect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst and Humor, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Long-Term Relationship(s), Married Couple, Married Sex, Nakama, Nakamaship, Natural Disasters, Old Friends, Philosophy, Psychological Warfare, Rescue Missions, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Discovery, Sexual Humor, Soul-Searching, Spiritual, Supernatural Elements, Tragedy/Comedy, Wrestling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 16:32:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 138,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3297122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuuskerDu/pseuds/HuuskerDu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes opposites really do attract. Taichi and Inaba are newlyweds. But the young couple will soon be tested again by Heartseed in ways beyond their imagination. And after the tragedy that befell Yui, Aoki, and Iori, will their fate be same? Or can they finally defeat their unseen enemy and live happily ever after?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Wedding of the Heart

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Kokoro Connect. This is a work of fan fiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Wedding of the Heart**

It had started as the happiest day in Himeko Inaba's life. It ended as one of her darkest.

Now, the reason her heart turned dark on that warm sunny day in June was not readily apparent. It was not due to the joyousness of the occasion, nor indeed was it due to any particular event that happened on that beautiful day. Rather, the cause of her descent into darkness on that fateful afternoon was a seed, a seed that that was planted in her heart from years before.

She had started the day in deliriously high spirits. It was because she was getting married to the love of her life, Taichi Yaegashi. Per tradition she had not seen him before the ceremony. As she waited in her dressing room she wondered why she was so nervous with anticipation. _I need to relax. T_ _his is just a ceremony,_ _a formality_. The happy couple had become inseparable since high school, and now that college was over they agreed it was time to make it official.

The ceremony had started. Standing in front of the shrine with their friends and family in attendance, she and Taichi faced the Shinto priest. Taichi looked rather dashing in his black western-style tux and beamed at his bride, while Inaba looked radiant in her white western-style wedding gown and smiled back at him.

She hid the fact that she was a little irritated with the elaborate gown she was wearing. _I can't believe I'm wearing this big wedding dress_ , she thought. _I look like a stupid princess or something._

It was because Taichi's parents had wanted a western style wedding. His parents were agnostic, her family was Buddhist. After much inter-family wrangling they compromised: The couple would dress western style, with a Shinto priest performing the main ceremony. The ceremony would wrap up with a homily spoken by a Buddhist priest named Baso, an old friend of Inaba's wealthy father, followed by a western-style exchange of rings and a kiss, and end with the traditional Shinto offering of the _tamagushi_ branch.

Inaba had initially balked at wearing a white wedding gown. She wanted instead to go with a formal white and red wedding kimono. To avoid family strife Taichi had begged her to wear a gown; he said he liked the western look as well. So she picked the most expensive white gown she could find in a fancy bridal boutique in Kyosho and wore it, but only because of him. Then she made sure his parents got the bill. _Have fun trying to take this contraption off me tonight, you idiot. I'm not gonna help._ She grinned inwardly at the hilarity that would probably ensue tonight as he fumbled around in frustration trying to undo all the fasteners.

She turned briefly to look at her friends and family behind them. Not all their friends were there to witness the blessed union that day. She knew that Yui, Aoki, and Iori - their best friends from back in high school - the other three former members of the School Cultural Society club, were not present. For Yui and Aoki, it was not because they were unwilling to attend the ceremony, it was because they were unable. _I will never forgive Heartseed for what he did to them,_ thought Inaba. Iori, of course, had her own reasons.

Following Shinto tradition, the couple took three sips of sake each from three cups poured by the _miko._ The shrine maiden looked resplendent in her white and red gown as she finished serving the couple. Per the families arrangement, Baso, the Buddhist priest, then came forward and addressed the young couple directly, to give them words of encouragement as they began their new life together. "Taichi Yaegashi, Himeko Inaba, you are standing here today to join in marriage, to declare your lifelong commitment to love one another. But what is love? The answer might be found in the _Taijitu_ , the symbol of yin and yang, the interconnectedness of the two, of two persons, of two souls, united as one. For the yin and the yang are opposing forces, each is the other's opposite. And yet they are one."

That was certainly true of Taichi and Inaba. Their personalities and temperament could not be more dissimilar. Indeed in many ways they were polar opposites of each other.

Taichi was self-sacrificing to a fault. He was always willing to jump in without hesitation to help someone in need, regardless of the cost to himself. Inaba thought he was a reckless fool, and she called him a 'selfless freak' to his face more than once. It created tension between them since high school, and it was a tension that was still not fully resolved even now.

Meanwhile Inaba's personality was abrasive, defensive, isolated, rational and rationalizing. She was someone who accepted her lot in life and did not try to fight fate. And so she never felt obligated to simply rush out and save others from theirs. _C'est la vie_. She felt that there was no point in trying to save everyone in the world, a hopeless task in any case, for it cannot be done without one's own self-destruction. Indeed, it had almost happened to Taichi more than once, and she upbraided him for it many times.

What brought them together was the honest recognition of each other's faults and strengths, and the willingness for each of them to try to sincerely change themselves for the sake of the other.

For his part Taichi tried to be less self-sacrificing of himself, to set priorities, and to think before leaping in to rescue somebody. He resolved to become more like her, to not be so reckless in his disregard for himself when helping others. Inaba for her part tried to open up, to not be so closed off and defensive, to not overthink and obsess about every little thing to the point of paralysis. She tried hard to become more like him, to be more self-giving as her fiancée was.

She finally understood that her continual self-imposed isolation was basically just another form of her own selfishness, of a fear of being hurt, or of hurting others. She admitted she was a selfish person, full of wants and needs that she tried to suppress, often unsuccessfully. That included her longing desire for Taichi. She grinned inwardly as she recalled the first big confession that they shared together: That they each had private sexual fantasies about the other.

She recalled how he was so mortified that she also sometimes had those thoughts. What, girls are never allowed to ever have any dirty thoughts, only boys? _I told you a dozen times, Taichi, I am not a princess!_ The fact that Inaba's given name, Himeko, meant 'princess' had irked her since childhood. She always hated that name. And so although officially as of today her formal name would be Himeko Yaegashi, she insisted that her husband and friends still call her Inaba.

Together they overcame each other's faults and grew stronger. Their complementary personalities canceled out each other's weaknesses and reinforced their strengths, counterbalancing their own flaws, creating a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts. And so, together, they felt they could face any hardship that life could throw at them.

Taichi had to admit to himself that if it wasn't for Heartseed and that strange entity's so-called 'tests' back in high school, that this wedding would not have happened. Each of the five club members were tested several times: They had swapped bodies against their will, or were forced to decide which one would die, or had their innermost desires unleashed, or were forced to reveal their most personal faults and weaknesses to each other in the most embarrassing ways. All of this was done ostensibly for Heartseed's entertainment, which he continued to do as long as he found his victims 'interesting', or so he claimed.

Inaba never understood that name, Heartseed, for it seemed to her that he was merely a sadist with no heart whatsoever. She refused to believe Taichi's theory that Heartseed was only trying to help them by revealing their deep seated emotional baggage to each other, to help them recognize their faults, to change each other, to become better persons. No, it was just for his sadistic entertainment, she thought, it had to be. He even admitted it. It was just another example of Taichi's ridiculous tendency to forgive others of anything, no matter the injury. No, she did not believe that Heartseed had any heart at all.

The Buddhist priest was still speaking his words of wisdom, but Inaba wasn't listening. She was still thinking about her absent friends. Again, Inaba swore to herself she would never forgive Heartseed for what he did.

Meanwhile Taichi was attending closely to the priest's words: "Love in Japanese has two names: _koi_ , and _ai_. But there is a third name for love in our language, and I believe that it is the best name: _kokoro_. It literally means the heart. I do not mean the body part, but rather love expressed as a certain feeling or an action.

"The kanji for _kokoro_ contains the brushstrokes for both _koi_ and _ai_. Now, _koi_ is romantic love, or passionate love. In western society it is called _eros_ , a greek word, which means intimate or romantic love. It is not necessary sexual, though it often is. _Ai_ , on the other hand, refers to a kind of selfless or self-sacrificing love. The closest corresponding word that westerners use is the greek word _agape_ (ah-gah-pay), which refers to selfless or unconditional love.

"In a marriage you will have, and experience, both kinds of love, both _koi_ and _ai_ : desire and sacrifice, wanting and giving. Both are needed if you are to flourish and grow emotionally and spiritually. You see, always sacrificing yourself to feed someone's selfish desire is just as wrong as someone's selfish desire to always take advantage of your loving self-sacrifice. You must give sacrifice to each other as much as you receive it. You must do both."

Taichi understood. He turned and smiled at his bride. Then he noticed that she was staring straight ahead. Odd..

As Baso continued to instruct them Taichi quickly turned his attention back.

"It is your loving support of each other that defines _kokoro_ , and it is universal to all successful marriages. For example, in the West the idea of mutual submission is central to the concept of marriage in the Christian Bible, which instructs the husband and wife to submit to each other*. The husband is instructed to love his family sacrificially as Christ does**, and so the husband must make any request to his wife and children solely out of his love for them. In return the wife is instructed to submit to her husband as the head of the family***. She must not hen-peck him or try to dominate him. Again, this is most important where children are involved, where the father and mother must give a united front and avoid displaying ceaseless conflict. And so we see that marriage is a harmony of balance, with each respecting their differences in support of each other in mutual submission. For love, true love, is both give and take, both yin and yang."

Taichi idly noted that the bald man, in those timeless orange priestly robes, had that ageless look that so many of them had. He could have been 55 years old, or 90, there was no way to tell.

Baso went on. " _Kokoro_ , the combination of both _koi_ and _ai_ , is embodied in the symbol of the _Taijitu_ , the great circle of the universe, the yin and yang, which also means harmony and balance. For you see, _kokoro_ is an endless circle, a cycle, that feeds upon itself and makes you grow stronger in your love for each other. Love is both giving and taking. It is _kokoro_ , the heart, that connects you to each other. The heart connection. In it, and through it, you build up each other in a kind of maturity, not only emotionally, but spiritually as well. For I will now reveal to you a deep truth: that _kokoro_ , as embodied in the _Taijitu,_ is the first step towards understanding what true love really means in this universe. For there is more, so much more. Indeed, the Buddhist masters spend a lifetime trying to understand it. The second step is..."

Inaba wasn't listening at all. She was thinking about her absent friends, Yui, Aoki, and Iori. She wished they were here. She then recalled what had happened to Yui and Aoki after graduation, and she grew cold. Heartseed must have done it, that bastard, or perhaps another of his manifestations, maybe the so-called 'Number Two' that had inhabited Taichi's sister at one point. He had claimed that Number Two was a separate entity, or was it? It didn't matter. In her mind they were one and the same: tormentors. He was responsible. There was no other possible explanation for what had happened.

Inaba remembered Aoki and Yui after graduation. Aoki was still madly in love with Yui, but she continued to turn down his marriage proposals, although she did feel touched by them. She even admitted that she might have feelings for the hopelessly lovesick man. The problem was that Yui was nearly raped by a stranger back in middle school, and so she had developed a strong case of clinical androphobia - a psychological fear of men. And despite her black belt training in karate she still could not bear to be touched by any man. Yui explained that she did not hate Aoki, indeed she called him a dear friend, but those emotional scars remained in her heart. Heartseed had arranged for Yui to reveal to the others her secret fear of men, but that did not dissuade Aoki. At first she seemed to improve.. But then.

But then.. something happened after high school, after the five club members had gradually lost contact with each other. Nobody knew how it started, or exactly how the dénouement happened. The police report omitted too many details. Of course now it was too late. All Inaba knew for certain was that Yui was gone, and Aoki was destroyed. Then there was Iori..

Baso was still speaking. By now Inaba had completely tuned him out. She was still thinking about her absent friends. Inaba swore she would never forgive Heartseed for what he did, ever. She wondered if there was a way to hurt him, to punish him.

And then someone stepped on her foot. Then pressed harder. She felt the pain. She reacted and yelled, "Ouch!"

There was a chorus of scattered and embarrassed titters coming from the audience. Taichi hissed, "Wake up! He's done! We're supposed to kiss now!" Inaba blinked her eyes in confusion.

Taichi finally gave up and gave her a perfunctory kiss, one that she realized she completely failed to participate in.

She came back to reality. She couldn't believe that she was spacing out at her own wedding. She felt mortified.

No, there was no way she could have spaced out like that on her own, or so she thought. It must have been that bastard Heartseed. She whirled and searched the audience. _Yes, there he is, in the back._

Her stare was deadly, for she had spotted her former homeroom teacher at Yamaboshi Private Academy, Ryuuzen Gotou, whom the students had often called 'Mr. Go'. He was the poor hapless soul that Heartseed had most often borrowed to observe his victims. Gotou was never aware of it, but as a precaution he was specifically not invited to the wedding, so Inaba knew that it had to be Heartseed.

As Baso raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior, she watched Heartseed begin to get up and leave quietly. She clenched her fists as she determined to find a way, some how, some future day, to get revenge on him, no matter what it took, no matter the cost.

She neglected to notice that her left hand still had no ring on it. It was because Taichi was forced to skip over that little part of the ceremony due to Inaba's vacation from reality. He was completely embarrassed. Baso then quietly stepped back to allow the Shinto priest to finish the service.

Meanwhile the delay in the ceremony continued to lengthen due to Inaba's weird staring at the audience, and so the commotion in the aisles grew louder. Her father then stood up. Taichi tried to plead with his new wife in vain. "Inaba! C'mon, turn back around. We need to offer the _tamagushi_ and finish this!"

But she ignored him, and she continued to look at her retreating hidden enemy.

And so the kernel of hate in her heart grew.

* * *

Sitting in the back row, Heartseed watched the wedding disaster slowly unfold. He wondered about the catatonic bride, Inaba. He shook his head slowly, for he had done nothing to her that day, nor indeed in quite a long time.

At that moment he could feel that a barrier had dropped down around Inaba's heart, a barrier he knew was of her own making, separating her from her husband, in a marriage where so far less than 45 seconds had elapsed.

 _A new record,_ he thought.

He saw that Inaba had spotted him and was now creating a ruckus with her behavior. He sighed, then he got up and left the grounds quietly. Sitting alone in the far back there were no other witnesses to his presence. Except for the bride's weird behavior, there would be no evidence that he was ever there. Everyone else would think he was nothing but a figment of her imagination.

Once outside he began to think about what he had seen and felt. Then he smiled inwardly to himself, for Inaba had become interesting again. Yes, very interesting. Taichi too. He began to reflect on the possibilities.

Yes, very interesting indeed.

He began to formulate a plan. He would arrange to test both of them almost to the breaking point, or beyond it. Whether they would survive the test would be up to them. But if they managed to overcome the challenges they would face - a big if - then Inaba's heart would be free again.

It was a risky plan, but risk was inherent in all things worth having.

He walked away into the late afternoon sun.

* * *

**A/N:**

Please give me reviews! I have two trajectories in mind for this story: one skews very dark, the other rather bright. Let me know your preference in a review.

This story has some thematic overlap with my novel-length fics _The Fifth Kind of Love_ and _After Ragnarök_ , both of which are based on the _Ah! My Goddess!_ animes and the _Oh! My Goddess!_ mangas. You can find them by clicking on my handle at the top (HuuskerDu).

My kanji research in this chapter is my own. If one of you native speakers or otakus out there think I biffed it, please PM me with your suggested corrections and I will be grateful.

I am a high speed touch typist, but I am a little bit dyslexic at the sentence level. I do spellcheck, but if you spot any word omissions, transpositions, or wrong homonyms, etc, please PM me so I can fix them. Thank you!

-HuuskerDu

(* Eph 5:21, ** Eph 5:25-29, *** Eph 5:22)


	2. The Idea of Love

**Chapter 2: The Idea of Love**

Aoki stood before the quartermaster.

He was being released.

The quartermaster was quietly listing Aoki's possessions as they were being returned to him.

"Shirt, blue. Cotton. Jeans. Tennis shoes. Wallet. 4200 yen. Here, take them."

"Thank you sir. But something is missing. The ring that was in my pocket."

"Let's see.. a woman's engagement ring. I'm sorry. I'm reading this.. I am instructed specifically not to give it to you."

"Sir? I would very much like to have it back."

"I'm sorry. Your instructions state that I cannot return it to you. Apparently it is a condition for your parole."

"I understand."

The quartermaster looked at him. He had released over 500 prisoners like this. He was sympathetic.

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't. This is my punishment." Aoki knew his punishment would be forever.

The quartermaster said, "Go with God, young man."

"Thank you, sir."

Aoki walked out into the sunlight. It blinded him.

* * *

Taichi glared at his new wife. "Inaba, what the hell was wrong with you back there?"

She was in the hotel room with him, still wearing her overly ornate wedding dress as she sat on their nuptial bed. It was a five star hotel that her father had arranged for their wedding night. It was because he owned the hotel. Champaign was on the mantelpiece. And rose petals were on the bed.

"I'm sorry.. I _saw_ him."

"You did not. There was not a single witness. I looked myself. He wasn't there. Baso didn't see him either. Nobody saw him!"

"I saw him."

"Look, we specifically instructed the ushers to be on the lookout in case he showed up. You remember that? To watch for him. They swore to a man they never saw him in attendance at the wedding.

Inaba flashed her angry eyes at her new husband. "I _saw_ him."

He hugged her. "Of course you did. I understand."

"Dammit, you're patronizing me again. I hate that."

"You saw him."

"You don't believe me."

"No, I do believe you. You saw him."

"Damn you."

"But you need to be more careful when you see him. You completely freaked out your father. He stood up."

It was because Inaba had embarrassed her father in front of everybody. He felt dishonored by her spectacle, by the titters and giggles in the pews. Taichi knew that Inaba didn't care a whit about family honor, about Japanese honor culture. He didn't either, not with her.

But her father did.

"I heard him muttering. You really shook him up."

Inaba looked down. She didn't want to look at the selfless freak in front of her. She just about had enough of him.

But she genuinely cared about her father.

He held her. "Inaba, please. You know he's old fashioned. You dishonored him. He could disinherit you."

She flashed anger at him again. "And what if he does? You've said a million times you don't care about my family's wealth."

"I don't. Well, only.."

What the hell? "Okay, this is new. You want my money now that you got me?"

"I mean.. the people we could help together.. charity, the poor.. the sick.. You shouldn't hurt your father this way."

"Oh my GOD. You actually married me for my money!"

"Huh? No, I didn't! I'm just saying we could help a lot of people!"

"You selfless freak!"

"Please. I love you. No matter what happens. You know that."

"You bastard. This is wrong. Why did I marry you?"

"Because I love you. You're just being obstinate again. Forget I said anything."

"Oh my GOD."

"You're just upset. I love you."

Her heart was black. She decided to be cruel, so she attacked him right in his heart. "No. You love the _idea_ of being in love."

"What?"

"You heard me. I grabbed you and took you away from Iori. Because I could."

He was confused. She tore into him mercilessly. "Because you are an utterly selfless freak. You are the perfect man. So I captured you. For myself. I took you. Then I proposed to you. Then I married you. And you let me. Because that is who you are. You rolled over and let me take you. "

He remained silent.

"The only time you ever grow a spine is when you do your selfless shtick. Then you're superman. You fell out of a tree and nearly killed yourself just to save a _kitten_ , remember? At those times you are bloody suicidal. But the rest of the time? You're a spineless wimp."

"Inaba.."

"You don't love me. No one loves me. You just love the idea."

"Stop it! Stop this!"

"You selfless FREAK!" She slappped him as hard as she could, then she fled the room. She continued running right out into the pouring rain.

Her expensive embroidered silk taffeta gown was soaked. People on the street looked at her in shock.

She ran blindly.

And she crashed right into Mr. Go.

Her eyes blazed with insane hate as she recognized her eternal tormentor. "Are you happy now!?"

He looked at her with dead eyes. "Maybe I was wrong."

"What?"

"I haven't done anything yet. The test hasn't even begun."

Dripping wet, in the pouring rain, in her pure white wedding gown, she stared in shock at the man who intended to destroy her.

"The test begins right now."

* * *

Inaba's father was looking at her from his limo, feeling thoroughly ashamed and furious. Originally he had intended that one day his _keiretsu_ , his empire, would be hers. But there she was, she standing alone in the pouring rain, utterly pathetic, with strangers staring at this scorned woman in a white wedding dress.

She spotted him in the limo. Her eyes widened in shock and fear. _Oh no.. he saw me.._

Her father looked at her with a mixture of shock and growing anger. She saw the anger building on his broad face. But it was not directed at her.

_What man would dare do this to my beloved daughter? What a monster! He must be punished for this disgrace, for this shame. He will be punished._

She read his mind and knew the terrible danger she had just put Taichi in. And it was all her fault.

Mr. Go walked away.


	3. The Father and the Princess

**Chapter 3: The Father and The Princess**

Inaba's father opened the door to his limo and motioned for her to come inside.

She did. _Maybe if I talked to him, if I tried to explain..._

Water poured out of her wedding dress as she sat down, filling the seat-cushion and the floor of the limo with rainwater. Her father leaned forward and said, "Drive." Then he pushed a button and the opaque sound proof partition rolled up between them and the limo driver. He was a nameless Korean in a black uniform and cap who stared straight ahead.

Her father pulled out a pure silk handkerchief and gave it to her. Inaba began to wipe her face. "Thank you.."

He looked at her carefully. "Did he strike you?"

"What? No, Taichi wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I understand. You are protecting him. The duty of a wife is to protect her husband. That is admirable of you. But I will not forgive this."

"No, wait, he didn't touch me. Please father, don't punish him. It was my fault, not his."

"My little princess, to be the _domo_ of a _keiretsu_ you must be strong. Even brutal when necessary. Compassion is weakness. A heart is weakness. If I am to name you as my successor, then you must learn to be strong as well. I will show you." He pulled out his cellphone and started dialing.

"Father, stop! It was me! He did nothing wrong!"

He stopped dialing and looked up. "Then explain it to me. Why did you flee into the rain in your wedding dress? This is your wedding night."

Inaba thought back to Heartseed. This was all his fault. "It's complicated.."

"Complicated? Ah. I have heard that excuse before. From my underlings, from those who did not want to explain their failure. I suspect the real answer is very simple: Now that you are married to him, he revealed something to you. He told you some secret that he has been hiding until this very night. Am I right?"

She thought back to what he said, about using her money to help others. Inaba looked away, "No."

Meanwhile her father was watching her very closely.

He sighed. "You are lying. I can see it. Oh, I do not mind your little lie, my darling princess, because you are merely protecting your husband, which is your wifely duty and obligation. But you _are_ lying."

Inaba remained silent.

"That is another trait that you will learn from me: how to detect lies." He spoke into the cellphone in a clipped staccato: "Taichi Yaegashi. Full profile. Level black. All methods." He then hung up.

Inaba knew that 'level black' meant to use both legal and illegal methods to obtain dirt on her husband, including illegal surveillance. She made a small inward smile. _Good luck on finding any dirt on Mr. Goody Perfect. Still, Taichi's in trouble. I have to stop this._

She looked straight at her father. "Taichi is innocent." She hoped that he believed the truth in her eyes.

He did, but only her sincerity. "If he is innocent, then tell me what he said to you. Then I might reconsider." His eyes narrowed. "And do not lie."

Inaba did not know what to do. Should she tell him? Or should she remain silent? Things couldn't get any worse than they already were. Her father would just keep digging. And when he found nothing? He could just frame Taichi and create evidence. He could create a fake bank account in his name or hire some fake witnesses. It would be easy for her father. She knew that power and money made it easy to destroy a person, especially someone as naïve as Taichi.

No, she had to tell him the truth. There was no other choice.

"He just wants to help people. Start a charity, help the poor, the sick.."

"Ah." He thought for a moment, then he nodded to himself. "Of course. I should have known."

"Father, he just surprised me, that's all. I flew off the handle. I slapped him and walked out. I do that sometimes. We've had these fights before. I don't know why we always have these fights, but we do. It's always my fault, not him."

"Yes, I am already aware of some of your, shall we say, disagreements. When you first started dating him I assigned some surveillance to watch him."

She was shocked. "Father!"

"I did it to protect you, my princess. I wanted to learn more about your suitor. It was discrete. Outdoors only, long distance, telephoto lenses. I always respected your privacy. Both of you."

"Still, you could have at least told me!"

He ignored her. "I saw the photos. You two have had many arguments, many fights. You left him several times. In one photo it appeared that you had even injured him during a fight. But you always eventually came back to him."

Inaba cringed. That was the time she threw that little buddha figurine at him. It clocked him right on the forehead. She had raised her hand to her mouth in shock at what she had just done, then immediately ran up to him and apologized profusely. She then bandaged the gash for him while begging for forgiveness. He merely shrugged it off as usual. Her father's operative must have then snapped a photo of her sneaking out the back window of his men-only dorm room like she always did, this time in tears. Then shortly afterward another operative must have snapped a second photo of Taichi walking out of the front door of the dorm with a big bandage on his head. Even years later she still occasionally apologized to him about the incident. And for some reason he still kept that damnable statue in his room.

Her father gazed absently out the limo window at the pouring rain as he spoke. "Let me guess. He was always steadfast, yes? He never got angry at you in return, not even once, yes? Never wavered?"

She was surprised. "Yes, that's right. That's it exactly. How did you know?"

"I think I am beginning to understand your husband. And I respect him."

Inaba's heart leapt. _He understands? He understands Taichi? Oh, thank god, he does. I was starting to worry..._

She noticed they were turning the corner to enter her old neighborhood. He was taking his disgraced princess home. Her father still lived in her old childhood home, hidden on the far west side of the prefecture, with only a single large gate visible from the hedgerows. The home was quite large by Japanese standards, but not gauche or extravagant. It was the home of, perhaps, a well-paid business executive, not the home of the _domo_ of a 100 billion yen empire. Her father was always like that, always living under his means. She knew that most self-made entrepreneurs tended to live that way. It was those who inherited their wealth that tended to spend it lavishly and wastefully.

Her father nodded to himself. "Yes. I see it now. He has been after your money the entire time."

What?

He looked back at her with sad eyes. "I am sorry, my princess. He does not love you. He never has."

Preposterous. Inaba knew that nothing could be further from the truth. It anything in this world was certain, it was Taichi's love. Oh, she questioned his motives, the reason for it, that he loved the idea of being in love, not her, but the emotion was definitely genuine. Love was what defined him.

She got agitated. "No! No! He really is in love!"

He shook his head slowly. "No, my little princess. No man is that patient. No man is that forgiving. That man does not exist. Do you not see? It is a front. Each time you slapped him he steeled himself by thinking of the vast wealth he would someday inherit from you. He is a patient man. He waited. For years. And I respect that. I respect that kind of patience, his ability to defer gratification. That ability separates us from the animals. I am impressed with him. He might even become a good businessman."

"No! You're wrong! He is a good man!" This was a travesty. Her father did not understand anything. He was disparaging the very heart, the very soul, of her husband.

He gently cupped her face in his large hand, his eyes sad but caring. "No. In time you will understand, you will see that..."

She slapped his hand away. He was shocked.

The limo was waiting at a red stoplight. She knew where she was.

She fumbled for the latch.

Her father grabbed the hem of her wedding dress. "Princess! Wait!"

She wrenched the dress right out of his hands. The soaked dress tore, leaving him with a fistful of torn taffeta.

She ran out into the pouring rain.

* * *

Aoki used his last 4000 yen to buy a disposable cellphone.

He made the call. He had the number memorized. He hoped it still worked.

He heard the ring. 1..2..3..

Someone picked it up. He heard the person who answed, "Inaba! Is that you!?"

Aoki was a little startled. "No.. this is Aoki."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Aoki?"

"Yeah, it's me. I was just released from prison a few hours ago."

"Oh! Hey, that's great! Why didn't you tell me they were going to release you? I would have picked you up or at least sent a taxi. You okay?"

"I guess. Look, I don't have a place to stay. It's really raining hard, and I was wondering if.."

"You don't have to ask." Taichi then gave him the address of his hotel. He chuckled. "You'll love this hotel. I got the honeymoon suite. Tell the taxi driver that I'll pay for your fare."

"Thanks, Taichi. I owe you my life. Uh, wait, the honeymoon suite?"

"It's a long story."

Aoki smiled. Just like old times. "Sounds interesting. I can't wait to hear it."

"Your timing is perfect. I really need to talk to you. Inaba thinks that Heartseed is messing with her. Nobody else has seen him."

Fear entered Aoki's heart. "H-Heartseed?"

"Yeah, she says he's back. You are one of the few people I can trust. Inaba's really gone off the deep end this time. I'm really worried about her."

"Got it. I'll be right there."

"Thanks, man. It's great that you are out of prison. Look, I know that what happened wasn't your fault. It just burns me up thinking about it. You know I'm not a violent person, but after what Heartseed did to you and Yui, her especially, I think I'd probably..."

"Stop. You can tell me when I get there. I'm getting soaked."

"Oh, sorry. Bye."

Aoki lowered the phone.

Heartseed.

So. Taichi still did not believe him. No one believed his story: not the police, not the detective, not the prosecutor, not the judge, not the jury. Nobody did. Not even his closest friends believed him. They had attended his trial and gave their support, but he could tell just by looking at their faces. They did not believe him either.

Except Yui. She knew the truth.

And she was gone.

He dialed for the taxi.

He stood in the rain and waited at the curb, thinking about the past.

* * *

Inaba ran down the street. This was her old neighborhood. She had walked down this sidewalk hundreds of times on her way to Yamaboshi Academy.

Inaba needed to talk to someone. Someone who knew about Heartseed.

She stopped. This was Aoki's old house. It looked vacant and boarded up. He was still in prison anyway.

She ran further down the street. Another house. This was Iori's old home. The last thing she heard was that Iori was still living in the house with her mother, but that was at least a year ago. And Iori herself had not spoken a single word to her in almost three years. Did she and her mother still live here? And would she..?

But Iori knew about Heartseed. Inaba steeled herself then approached the door and knocked, grateful to be under the awning and out of the rain.

No answer. She knocked again, harder this time.

Someone opened the door.

Inaba saw that it was Iori. She was wearing a simple dress. Inaba saw that her hair had grown out to a shoulder-length cut, and she was bit taller and had filled out a bit, a late bloomer apparently. She was not an unattractive girl with her distinctive pixie face and the cute dainty mole that was located just below and to the left of her mouth.

But now that face was expressionless and unreadable.

Inaba fumbled for the words to say. She had not thought this far ahead. "Iori, uhm, I'm sorry. I know I have no excuse to be here.."

The watcher at the doorway remained silent and impassive.

"Something happened. Heartseed is back. He's running his damnable tests again."

Silence.

"I just, well, ran out from my, uh, wedding, as you can see.. and from my father.."

Silence.

Inaba grew more nervous under her cryptic gaze. "Look, I am really sorry. I know I messed you up, that I hurt you.. I am so sorry. I really am. Normally I would never come here like this, but it's Heartseed again. I need to talk to someone who understands. Nobody else does."

Silence.

She got frustrated. "Look Iori, if he's skulking around again then that means he's after you too. You are in just as much danger as I am!"

More silence.

The silence was beginning to unnerve Inaba. "C'mon, Iori! You know that this is exactly how he operates. He divides us! Sets us against each other! It's happening again!"

Silence.

"Iori, please.."

She then closed the door in Inaba's face.

Inaba just stood there in the rain. She was lost and utterly alone. Several minutes passed.

She turned around to go. She knew she would have to walk the five blocks to her father's house. She began think of the proper words to say to her father in apology for her disgraceful actions.

Then she froze. Her heart turned to ice. It was because she saw the figure that was standing on the sidewalk next to the front gate. He was holding an umbrella, watching her with dead eyes.

It was Heartseed.

* * *

**A/N:**

_Kokoro Connect_ has a decent English dub and I recommend it.   In the US, the dub can be streamed legally on The Anime Network (subscription required). David Matranga does a great job as Heartseed, and Greg Ayers' Taichi is spot on. During the body swapping arc the English voice actors do a far better job of imitating the other characters' cadences and vocal mannerisms than the Japanese VAs.


	4. Unexpected Guests

**Chapter 4: Unexpected Guests**

Taichi rubbed the towel over his unruly hair after leaving the shower. The bathroom itself was enormous, bigger than his entire bedroom when he lived with his parents. He wrapped the towel around himself as he idly inspected all the various perfumes, oils, bath salts, ointments, and other accoutrements that were laid out in an elaborate presentation on a series of mirrored platters that were lined up against a huge mirror along the back side of the vanity. The vanity top was made of granite, with two oval porcelain sinks. The sink knobs appeared to be gold plated, as were the other metal fixtures.

He chuckled to himself. _Yeah, I could get used to living in a place like this._ The honeymoon suite was rented over the long weekend, three nights. He decided to stay at least one night in case Inaba came back.

After all, she always did.

He knew his new wife very well. Eventually she would come back. She just needed some time alone.

Taichi knew it was possible that she went to stay at her father's house. But that was unlikely. Inaba was a fiercely independent woman, and he felt that she would never go crawling back to daddy like that. That was not her way. More likely she was sitting in a cafe somewhere brooding. She would then probably go to some other hotel and stay overnight. Eventually she would call his cell, then cuss him out as he moved the earpiece away from his ear. After the cussing stopped he would apologize of course. Then he would try to calm her down. Eventually she would break down.

And then, and only then, would he offer to come for her, to rescue her. She would tell him where she was and then simply hang up on him. Then he would go find her and hold her tightly in his arms as he dried her tears. He would then take her home as she apologized over and over. And then once there, sometimes, she would push him to the floor.

It was a pattern that had happened many times before.

Previously he had given the hotel doorman the funds to pay for Aoki's taxi. It was possible that Inaba might call or return to the hotel tonight, but he thought it highly unlikely. This was a bad episode. She would not call him again tonight. Tomorrow, perhaps. Or the next. After all, they had the suite rented for three nights.

He sighed, then he then decided he might as well take advantage of the enormous suite so he had stepped in the shower.

As he was drying himself off, he heard a knock on the door of the suite. _Hmm, Aoki got here faster than I expected. Oh well, I better let him in before he catches pneumonia._

He tightened the towel around his waist, then opened the door.

It was not the person whom he expected.

It was not Aoki.

It was not Inaba.

It was his younger sister, Rina.

She proceeded to grapple the nearly naked man. "Onii-chan!"

Back when Taichi and Inaba were in high school, Rina was a very precocious fifth grader, seemingly wise far beyond her years. She seemed to have an innate understanding of boy-girl relationships, and she often tried to give him dating advice. She even claimed to have been dating a boy herself who was in middle school, much to Taichi's shock.

Rina was always very close to her onii-chan. Perhaps too close. He remembered how jealous she had acted when he and Inaba started dating, as if Inaba and Rina were somehow in direct competition for Taichi's affections.

His sister beamed at him. "Onii-chan! I came as soon as I heard. You poor, poor baby! I'm here now. Everything will be okay, everything will be fine." She patted his back like a child.

The poor man floundered around in surprise, trying to pull his wayward sister out of the hallway and out of public view, all while trying desperately to keep his loosened bath towel from falling down around his ankles.

"Oof, Rina, let go. Ow! Those fingernails are sharp!"

"You poor baby!"

"Rina, just stop it!"

Rina was no longer a petite and precocious fifth grader. She was now a rather tall and precocious tenth grader, a sophomore at Yamaboshi Academy. In appearance she was practically the gender opposite clone of her older brother: She had the same unruly brown hair, the same height, and the same brown eyes. She was quite popular at school, the center of her social circle, and the last Taichi had heard she was dating a college student.

He gently pulled his sister off of him. "How did you know about our fight? And how did you get here?"

She looked at him dolefully like a teacher answering a question from a befuddled student. "Quite simple. I looked out my bedroom window and saw your new wife running down our street in a torn wedding dress. Then I asked Mom where you two were staying, then I jumped on a bus to see you."

"Wait, her dress was torn?"

"Yeah. Someone ripped her dress really bad, right on the hem. You can see her underslip and everything." She tsk-tsked. "Onii-chan, did you do that? Have you been a naughty brother?"

"What? No!" He began to get concerned. "Is she okay? Do you know where she was headed?"

"Well, she was running in the direction of that house at the end of the street, the one with the big gate where her father lives."

Taichi was now worried. That wasn't like Inaba. Something had obviously happened. Maybe this episode was worse than he realized. He thought perhaps he should call her father to make sure she was all right.

He thought some more, then he decided against it. If she is staying overnight with her father then he knew that she was being well protected and well taken care of, whatever had happened. And Taichi knew he wasn't in a good position to explain things to her father. Not yet, anyway. The man was clearly embarrassed about what happened during the wedding ceremony. It was probably best if Inaba explained everything to her father herself. Yes, that would be best. He decided not to call until tomorrow.

Taichi quickly and discretely put on one of the hotel's bathrobes that was hanging in the closet. It was made of blue silk. Meanwhile Rina was exploring the suite. Her eyes goggled at the nuptial bed with the rose petals on it. She sat and bounced on the enormous bed. "Onii-chan, this bed is amazing! I've never seen one so big!" She flopped on her back. "This is wonderful!" Then she spread eagle on the bed, arms and legs extended. "And these sheets are so soft! You have to lie down and feel this! C'mon! Try it!"

He crossed his arms. "No."

"Aw, c'mon!"

Then there was another knock on the door. _Aoki, finally. Thank you for rescuing me._

He quickly answered the door. As expected it was Aoki. He was wearing a wan smile, his shirt and blue-jeans soaked. "Hey, bro."

Taichi waved him inside. "C'mon in. There are lots of towels in the bathroom."

"Thanks, dude." He was a bit startled to see Rina spread-eagled on the honeymoon bed. He looked at Taichi, who just gave him a helpless shrug. Aoki decided he was better off not knowing.

Rina looked up, "Hey, this is a private suite! Newlyweds only!"

Taichi did a facepalm. Then he closed the door. "Relax, it's okay. I invited him up. He just got out of prison."

"Wow, really? You invited a prisoner up here to spend the night with you? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." She got up.

"Know what?"

She was looking embarrassed. "So that's why she ran out.. I'm sorry to butt in."

"Huh?"

"I didn't know you swung yaoi. It's okay. I'm leaving."

He glared at his annoying sister. "Hey! I don't!"

She touched his cheek lovingly. "That's all right, big brother. I'll leave you two alone. I won't say anything."

Taichi was getting agitated. "There's nothing to 'say'!"

"Of course, dear brother. I'm outta here. Sealed lips. Bye!" She left.

Aoki had turned around near the bathroom and was watching the exchange, looking rather dumbfounded.

"Dude, your sister is weird."

Taichi did an eyeroll. "Tell me about it."

* * *

Inaba stood in the awning and stared at her tormentor. Heartseed was patiently waiting at the gate. He was holding an umbrella.

Inaba turned away from Heartseed's dead face. Her mind raced. What should she do? Then the front door opened again. A hand motioned Inaba to come inside.

_Oh thank heavens, Iori saw him too. Maybe she'll understand now. She is in just as much danger as I am._

She came inside and removed her white wedding slippers in the foyer. Her hostess finally spoke. "Are you okay? I just noticed that your dress is torn. Were you attacked?"

She sighed. "No, I wasn't. It was an accident. Iori, I am so sorry to impose on you like this. It's Heartseed again. He went and wrecked my wedding ceremony. He's been stalking me ever since."

"Heartseed?"

"Yeah, he's back. Look, I need to get away from him for a little while. Can you hide me? I know this is a terrible imposition, especially after what happened between us. If you want to kick me out right now I'll understand."

"No.. it's fine. Go and change in the bathroom." She pointed. "There are some towels in there. I'll see if I can find you a change of clothes to wear."

"Oh, Iori, thank you so much. I'll.. I'll repay you for this, I promise."

"Inaba, just go and get changed before you catch cold."

And so she did.

Inaba saw that Iori was sitting on the couch waiting for her. Inaba was now wearing a simple dress much like her hostess. There was a tray with hot black tea on the table along with some crackers, cheeses, and cold lunchmeats. "I know this isn't much, but I assume you must be hungry."

"Oh, I'm starving, thank you!" Inaba proceeded to devour the snack tray. She cupped the warm tea in her chilled hands to warm them, then drank deeply. "Iori, you're a lifesaver."

After she was finished with her impromptu meal there was a another silence. Inaba looked at the poor girl. Apparently Iori was still keeping her emotional distance from her. Inaba understood perfectly.

Inaba had never realized who Iori really was until she had her big emotional breakdown back in high school. It had happened shortly after Taichi had confessed his love to the pixie-faced girl. He was shocked when she then rejected him. The rest of the clique were also stunned by her rejection, as Taichi should have been the kind of boy that any girl would want: kind, caring, protective, loving. Inaba had jokingly called him 'Mr. Goody Goody Perfect'. So why did Iori reject him?

Only later did they realize that Iori had refused him because she knew that she was not the person that Taichi thought he had fallen in love with. She had presented to him a false front, a facade, a cheery and happy-go-lucky exterior that Iori had shown to all her friends. She had molded her personality to fit in whatever situation she was in: cheery with friends, respectful with persons of authority, and obedient and subservient with her step-father. But they weren't her. None of them were.

Her multiple personas had begun to develop when she was young, when her mother started her serial relationships with five different men. The second man was particularly violent and abusive, and the little girl quickly learned to bury herself behind a mask to protect both herself and her mother from her step-father.

Iori had no siblings. She was alone. She had to protect herself and her mother, so she compensated the only way she knew how.

Shortly before she rejected Taichi, Heartseed had begun another one of his awful tests. The phenomenon this time was the transmission of a person's innermost thoughts and emotions to the other members of the StuCS. He claimed it happened at random times, but it always seemed to hit whenever Iori was thinking of her own worst secret: her false and artificial exterior. And so her deepest secret was brutally exposed to the rest of the club members. She was revealed as a gloomy fraud who merely conformed to everyone else's expectations.

Iori's deepest fear was that she had no real core personality, that behind all of her many masks was.. nothing. And when this, her greatest fear, was exposed to the others she became horrified and fled. Only after a series of incidents, including the kidnapping of Inaba and a violent attack on Taichi, both of which she blamed on herself, did her friends confront her about it. They told her that it didn't matter who the 'real' Iori was. They loved her regardless. Taichi then re-confessed his feelings to the real Iori, and they agreed to start over from scratch.

Meanwhile Inaba realized she had to make her own feelings known. So while Taichi had lain injured in the infirmary bed after the attack, she blurted out her own feelings to him, yelling 'I love you! I love you!' over and over. Then she gasped and put her hands to her face in embarrassment. It wasn't calculated or intentional. It just happened. Taichi already knew her love was real, and that Inaba had tried to hide it many times during the various tests. And so right then and there he made his choice: He chose Inaba. She stared at him for a moment, then she jumped and yelled like a banshee. And thenceforth she and Taichi were an official couple.

And the lonely pixie girl was left behind.

Inaba was getting nervous. She continued to try to make conversation while her hostess continued to watch her impassively.

"I must say, Iori, you are looking very nice. These past four years you've really matured. You're really quite pretty. Do you have a boyfriend now?"

"No."

"Oh, well, their loss then, ha ha." Her laugh was forced. Inaba was grasping at straws trying to keep the conversation moving. Why wasn't Iori saying anything?

* * *

Aoki and Taichi were downing some beers while watching the big game on the huge flat-panel TV.

Aoki belched a huge beer-burp. Then he said, "Man, this is the life."

Taichi chuckled, "Yeah." They watched the game some more.

During the break they saw a TV commercial for WrestleMania XVII. Taichi got excited, "I can't wait for that match. The Undertaker is going to kick John Cena's ass!" Aoki remembered that Taichi was a nut about pro wrestling.

Aoki gave him a sideways glance, "You do know that all that wrestling stuff on TV is fake, right?"

Taichi gave him a frown, "Ouch, that's harsh. There you go bursting my bubble. Next you'll be telling me there's no such thing as Santa Claus." He chuckled again, "Okay, so maybe it's choreographed. But those guys are real athletes doing real wrestling moves, the jobbers especially."

"The jobbers?"

"The jobbers are the guys who take a beating to make the star wrestlers look good."

"So you admire the guys who take a beating..."

"Oh definitely. The jobbers actually have the harder role. You gotta be really tough to be a jobber. I really respect those guys. Sometimes the star makes a mistake and the jobber really gets hit, but usually it's carefully choreographed with lots of practice. And then when you watch it, it's almost like a ballet."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. It's cool with me."

Another TV commercial started. Taichi asked, "So, how was prison?"

"Eh. I survived."

Taichi knew that prison life in Japan was strict and regimented. It was nothing like prisons in the West.

Taichi put down his drink. "Look, We all know it wasn't your fault. It was Heartseed."

Aoki pretended to look at the TV commercial. He was thinking about what happened. Then he sat back and drew his beer slowly. "Yeah..." _Even my best friend doesn't believe me._

Taichi kept talking. "Man, I can't believe he did that to you. Originally I thought he was just trying to help us unload our emotional baggage and bond with each other, you know, to become better persons. But he really set you up."

As a spectator Taichi had watched the evidence that was presented at Aoki's trial: The hairs of his forearm found embedded in her skull, the blood that matched hers, all of the forensics that pointed straight at him. It was a slam-dunk case.

Taichi shook his head. "And then just after the attack he released your mind so you can call the police on yourself. What a bastard."

Aoki kept pretending to watch the TV. He reflected on what happened.

What really happened.

_Yui, I'm so sorry._

* * *

Inaba kept babbling, trying to make conversation. Iori's reticence was really starting to bother her.

Then it suddenly hit her.

"Wait.. you called me 'Inaba'."

"Yes, I did."

"Not 'Inaban', or 'Dereban'.*"

"No, I did not."

Inaba stopped and stared. Her eyes grew wide as saucers at the dawning realization.

"You.."

Her hostess put down her teacup.

"Iori does not live here anymore."

She smiled complacently at her guest.

"I am her mother."

Inaba's teacup fell with a crash on the floor.

* * *

**A/N:**

* Iori had always called Inaba 'Inaban'. Later she added the nickname 'Dereban' in the Light Novel (she used 'Sukiban' in the anime). In this story I have her using Dereban, not Sukiban, because it fits the story better. This is because 'dere' means 'cute', and it makes sense for Iori to tease Inaba like that. And the LNs being the original source material make it canonical. (Suki has multiple meanings that don't fit nearly as well.)


	5. Admissions and Accusations

**Chapter 5: Admissions and Accusations**

It was morning. Inaba ate her eggs benedict in silence. Iori's mother, Reika Nagase, had insisted that Inaba stay the night. At first Inaba politely declined her gracious offer. Then she realized that she had literally nowhere else to go. She couldn't go crawling back to her father, and she certainly wasn't going back to Taichi. And she had no money, no cellphone, and no ID. And Heartseed was probably still lurking around out there, although she couldn't see anything from the front window.

So she acquiesced and slept in Iori's old bedroom overnight.

After breakfast was over, Mrs. Nagase arose to begin cleaning the kitchen. Inaba jumped up to assist her. Her hostess smiled at the homeless bride. "Oh, thank you. My, you are so quick to help. You really do remind me of Iori."

Inaba understood. It was because Iori had always molded herself to fit into any situation. At home she was always quick to help her mother, always the perfect helpmate. At school she was the cheerful girl that everyone liked. With her step-fathers she was always subservient and obedient.

She was always wearing the mask.

The previous night Inaba had helped Iori's mother clean up the mess on the floor from her dropped teacup. It happened after the stunning revelation that the woman she was babbling in front of for 20 minutes was not in fact Iori.

Mrs. Nagase had apologized to Inaba for not revealing the fact sooner. She had explained that at first she did not recognize who Inaba actually was, having only seen her a few times several years prior. Then through the window of the front door she spied the ripped wedding dress and decided to admit the strange panicky bride into her home. It took several minutes of listening to Inaba's non-stop babble before she realized who her visitor actually was.

After the revelation and the cleanup, Inaba bowed with endless apologies and turned to leave, but then she realized that she had nowhere else to go. So she agreed to stay the night.

Iori's mother had some questions for her new guest. The first question was about this 'Heartseed' character. Who was he? Inaba's response was evasive. She explained that he was a stalker who had harassed them all in high school. The answer seemed sufficient, and it made Mrs. Nagase all the more determined to keep her as a guest for the night.

She then asked how her other friends were doing. Inaba explained that as far as she knew Aoki was still in prison, and there was no change in Yui Kiriyama's status at the long-term care facility. She was still in a coma.

Mrs. Nagase tsk-tsked as she recalled the terrible incident in her mind.

What she did not know was that it was the stress of that awful event that had indirectly led to the falling-out between Iori and Inaba. Each blamed the other for not catching it sooner, that it could have been prevented if they had only been more watchful, if they had only paid attention to the signs. Taichi also blamed himself, of course. They all blamed themselves and each other. Aoki blamed himself most of all.

Mrs. Nagase reflected on the incident while drinking her tea. "It was such a shame that your _nakama_ broke up. Iori was never the same after that."

Inaba tilted her head, "Nakama?"

"I'm sorry. Have you not heard the term before?"

Inaba shook her head.

"The term literally means 'friends' or 'companions'. Colloquially it refers to a very tight-knit group of friends who, through their shared experiences, have forged bonds that make them closer than family."

Inaba smiled inwardly. _Closer than family?_ Were they that close? _Yes, we were._ They had learned each other's innermost secrets, faults, and desires. Because of Heartseed they knew more about each other's secrets than even between a husband and wife or between a parent and child.

And they survived the experience.

Forged bonds, indeed.

Mrs. Nagase went on. "That was certainly true in Iori's case. I have to admit that she and I were never close. I thought we were, but Iori later told me it was just her mask, that I never really knew the 'real' Iori at all."

Now it was Mrs. Nagase's turn to look down. "And perhaps she was right."

Inaba leaned forward in earnest. "I'm certain she loved you. I know she did, and I'm certain she still does."

The older lady smiled. "Oh you are right, she did love me and still does. But there was always a separation between us. She was always keeping her distance from me. I blame myself for not realizing it sooner."

Inaba recalled the confrontation that she and her friends had with Mrs. Nagase's abusive second ex-husband when he attempted to return. Together they gave Iori's mother the strength and support to throw the bum out for good.

Mrs. Nagase nodded. "Yes, after you helped me get rid of him I ended my serial relationships. Iori changed as well. I had no idea that she was so unhappy or that she had such low self-esteem."

Inaba put down her cup. "May I ask, where is Iori now?"

Her mother looked down again. "She's living with a man. Not a good man. I worry about her. I hardly ever see her."

Inaba's eyes narrowed. _Low self-esteem.. living with a bad man.. uh oh.._

She knew that daughters often relived their mothers' lives. Her mind raced in thought. _Oh no.. She is living in an abusive relationship just like her mother.._

Then her eyes widened in guilt. _And it's all my fault._

She knew what she had to do.

"Mrs. Nagase, do you know exactly where Iori is living right now? The address?"

"Why, certainly."

* * *

Goru jumped when he heard the knock on the door to his run-down public-housing unit. It wasn't the coded knock. He grabbed his weapon then looked through the peephole. It was some young chick with messy dark hair. He opened the mailslot an inch. "Whatcha want!?" The door was reinforced with steel.

The strange girl bent down and spoke through the mailslot, "I'm here to see Iori Nagase. I'm a friend of hers. I know she lives here."

Dammit, that girl knew better than to invite her friends here! "Iori, you stupid cow! I told you a million times, ain't nobody comes here without my say-so!"

There was a voice in back. "Who is it?"

He scowled at the mailslot. "What's yer name?"

Inaba throught for a moment. "Tell her that Dereban is here."

"It's Dereban! Tell her to get lost!"

There was a pause. A girl quickly came out of the back room. "It's okay, Goru. I know her. She's safe."

"I don't care. Tell her to go away."

"She's an old friend. Just give me a few minutes, okay?"

"You have two."

Iori opened the door and made a sardonic smile. "You know, I could have made a list of fifty people who could have knocked on that door just now, and your name would not have been on that list."

Inaba put her hand behind her head. "Uh, yeah. I'm sorry. Can I come in?"

"Uh, no, sorry. House rules. I'll come out instead."

Iori came out into the light.

Inaba gasped.

She was gaunt, with sallow eyes. Her face was that of a person who was utterly defeated. There was a faded bruise over her left eye and what looked like fresh bruises on her wrists.

_I was right._

Inaba checked her over quickly. Was she using? Hmm. No needle marks. No rotted teeth. No bad breath. Maybe she's okay.

"Why are you here?"

Inaba decided to distract her. "Heartseed is back."

"What? You're kidding."

"No. He's back. We're all in danger."

Iori made an odd grin. "Really now. So he thinks you and I are 'interesting' again? You maybe. Not me. I'm definitely not interesting. I'm a nobody."

Inaba's face was a strange mixture of heartbreak, concern, regret, and determination.

She chuckled. "You know, I can't believe what I am about to do."

Iori raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"I've turned into Taichi. I am going to act just like that stupid impulsive idiot..."

"Inaban?"

"... and rescue you."

She grabbed Iori's wrist and dragged her down the stairs and into the street.

Goru yelled, "Hey!"

He took a few steps out into the sunlight, then looked around nervously. He would not leave the safety of his lair. The spider would not leave its web. He then yelled at the retreating pair, "Iori! Get your sorry ass back here! Or so help me I'll whup it 'til there's no skin left on it!"

Iori paused. Inaba yanked her arm. The pair kept moving away.

"I'll track you down, you [bleep]!" He slammed shut the steel door.

Iori didn't resist Inaba's forced march. Instead she was rather bemused at being dragged down the street by her former rival. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this little kidnapping?"

Inaba stopped. _Ugh. Where do we go now? I can't take her to her mother's place. That bastard knows the address._ "Uh, do you have a cell?"

Iori gave her a sad look. "Wow. You haven't thought this through at all, have you? You're right, Taichi must be rubbing off on you. Here you go." She gave Inaba her cellphone.

Inaba dialed the hotel - not the room, the front desk. She asked if the suite was still occupied. It was. Two occupants. Wait, two? No matter.

Iori took another look at her former rival, a person she had not seen in three years. "You look good. Hey, why are you wearing one of my Mom's old dresses?" She recognized the repair work on the sleeve.

"Uhm, your Mom loaned it to me. And enough money for bus fare."

"Wow, I didn't know your father's business was doing so badly."

"Very funny."

Inaba sighed. She knew her options were limited. _Okay, T_ _aichi, I'm coming back. But you are still in the doghouse._

"C'mon, let's go."

* * *

_Four hours earlier_

Taichi blinked his eyes at the morning sun that was now streaming in from the huge french windows in the suite's bedroom. He yawned and put on his bathrobe. He put a K-cup in the Krups machine and waited for the coffee to fill his mug. He then walked out through the french windows to gaze at the magnificent view of the city skyline and the surrounding environs.

He realized that they had failed to close the curtains overnight. _Oh well. It's not like there was anything for anyone to see in here anyway._

After admiring the view he came back inside. Then he walked around the enormous bed and kicked Aoki's still slumbering form. He was snoring loudly. "Wake up, bozo. It's morning."

Originally they were going to play rock-paper-scissors to see who was going to be exiled to sleep on the couch. But they were both too tired to really care, and the bed was so big that it really wasn't necessary. Aoki could have been sleeping in another room given the distance between them.

Aoki yawned and blinked his eyes in the sunlight. He sat up and started to rub his fingers across his teeth. "Hey, you got an extra toothbrush?"

"Check the bathroom." Taichi then noticed in the mirror that his hair was sticking up in crazy angles. "I need it too, so hurry up."

Aoki, who was wearing Hawaiian-style boxers, slowly shuffled into the bathroom. Meanwhile Taichi watched him from behind. He was still shaking his head.

It was because Aoki, the wimpiest of the five members of the StuCS, the one who was afraid of his own shadow, the one who was so terrible at sports, was now _ripped_. With the Hawaiian shorts, his toned arms, and his powerful legs, he looked like a champion surfer just walking off Waikiki Beach.

The previous night Aoki had explained it rather succinctly: "When you are in prison there is not much else to do besides work out." Taichi shrugged. It made sense.

Taichi knew Aoki wasn't a bookworm. Indeed, he barely graduated on time from Yamaboshi Academy with the rest of his class. College for him was out of the question.

After high school, Aoki had landed a job as a sanitation engineer. He often cited his job title with pride, saying "I'm an engineer!" The job paid rather well given the type of work that was involved. It was because Japan was a country that prided itself on cleanliness and tidiness. On his route he drove an advanced refuse-collection truck that sported an enormous robotic claw for picking up trash containers and dumpster bins. He was quite deft at quickly grabbing and flipping the containers into the truck, making the best use of his excellent eye-hand coordination from a lifetime of playing video games.

Meanwhile, Yui Kiriyama had enrolled in the local community college to study criminal law. She said she wanted to become a police officer. She aspired to eventually work her way up to becoming a police detective. Yui was again doing advanced karate training at the local _dojo_ while also leading her own training class for young inexperienced female white-belts. In her class she emphasized defense and self-protection.

But soon all that would come to an end.

It was because her life had effectively ended only six months after her graduation.

Her life was over.

Taichi drank his coffee as he checked the call log on his cellphone. No calls had come in during the night. Again he debated whether to call Inaba's father. Again he decided to wait to give her the opportunity to call first. That was always the best way. Inaba operated on own her schedule, her own rhythm. He knew it was never wise to try to rush her.

Still, he was concerned for the well-being of his new wife, particularly after what Rina had told him. But he knew that Inaba was a smart woman who was very resourceful and fiercely independent. She knew how to take care of herself.

He decided he would wait. He didn't want to leave the suite in case she returned unexpectedly.

A few hours later he was watching the TV again.

Meanwhile, Aoki was exploring the opulent accommodations and poking his head into its various nooks and crannies.

He was slowly working his way through the kitchenette area and opening various cabinets. He opened an upper cabinet and noticed with appreciation various fine wine glasses, champagne glasses, and water goblets.

Then he opened another cabinet. He raised an eyebrow. Its contents were clearly not provided by the hotel. He started to dig through the items he found.

He yelled, "Hey, Taichi?"

He was in the next room. He yelled back, "Yeah, what?"

"Does your wife have a red cellphone and a black purse?"

"Uh, yeah..?"

"Well, I found them."

Taichi jumped up and ran to the kitchenette. Aoki had pulled out Inaba's purse. Taichi opened it and confirmed that it contained her ID, driver's license, checkbook, credit cards, everything.

He shook his head. "How could she leave everything behind like that?"

Aoki gave him a sad look. "Dude, a wedding dress doesn't have pockets."

Taichi eyes grew wide as the awareness of the situation began to hit him. Aoki crossed his arms. "Your wife is running around out there in a wedding dress with no money, no phone, and no ID. That's not good. She has even fewer belongings than I did when I got kicked out of prison."

Taichi tried to head to the door, but Aoki held him back. "Wait! Do you even know where you are going? You gotta think first."

"Uh.. but.. she's in trouble! I have to help her!"

Then, as if on cue, there was a knock at the door. The two men stared at each other.

Aoki shrugged. Taichi frowned. It was too early for Inaba to come back. She hadn't tried to contact him. He was always the one who rescued her and brought her back. This wasn't part of the normal pattern.

Taichi went to the door and cautiously opened it.

It was Inaba. She was no longer wearing the wedding dress.

And standing next to her was another girl.

It was Iori.

Inaba gave the pixie girl a gentle but firm push into the suite. She didn't resist. Then Inaba glared at her new husband. The communication was silent but very clear. _Taichi, this isn't over. But we have more important things to deal with right now._

Taichi fumbled the introductions with the unexpected guest, "Uh, hey, hi Iori. Wow, I didn't expect to see you here. C'mon in."

She took a few steps into the suite then looked around. "Hmm. This is pretty lavish."

Inaba walked past him into the room while glaring at him.

Taichi flapped his arms. He gave up trying to figure out what was going on. So instead he just started acting like a host. After all, what else could he do?

"Please, all of you, sit down. Make yourself at home."

Iori looked around. "Nice. This looks like a honeymoon suite."

"It is."

"So who got married?"

"Uh.." Taichi was totally lost. Why did Inaba drag Iori here? And how could she not know they were married? Although the two women had their falling out, he thought for sure that they had mailed her a wedding invitation out of common courtesy if nothing else. Did she not receive it? Or did Inaba remove it from the pile?

Aoki was standing close to Taichi. Iori looked at the pair and giggled. "You two, right?"

Taichi turned to look at Aoki. "Huh? Us? Wait, no!"

That got a chuckle even out of Inaba.

Taichi was flustered. "You got it all wrong! Inaba and I were married yesterday."

Iori then turned. "Inaban, so let me get this straight. You got married yesterday and then, instead of spending your wedding night with your new husband, you go visit my mother for god-knows-what reason. And from there you kidnap me and drag me back to your honeymoon suite? Have I got that right?"

"Uhm.."

"You want an audience or something? You want me and Aoki to cheer you on as you two go at it? Gosh, Inaban, that's pretty twisted, even for you."

"No! Of course not!"

Iori's face was stern. She looked nothing like the cheerful and happy-go-lucky girl of their youth.

The mask was long gone.

"Then tell me, what is going on?"

She studied Inaba's face. Then she looked at Taichi's helpless confusion. Her eyes were sweeping back and forth between the two of them.

"Ah. I think I see it."

She took a step towards Inaba.

"Inaban, I have a question. Do you love him?"

Inaba took a step back. "What?"

Iori took another step forward. "I asked you a simple question. Do you _love_ him?"

Aoki grew alarmed. He tried to intervene in his usual ham-handed way, "Now ladies, let's all calm down here.." He approached Iori.

She shoved him back. Hard. The force shocked the others.

Meanwhile Inaba was backing away from her accuser.

"Inaban! I asked you a simple question! Answer it! DO YOU LOVE HIM?"

There was silence.

She looked down. "I don't know.."

Iori's face was fierce. "Then what the [bleep] are you doing? If you don't know, why did you marry him?"

Inaba looked at all of them in confusion, as if pleading for the answer in their faces. She couldn't find it.

"I.. I.. don't know! I don't know!"

Then she turned and fled the suite.

Taichi lunged to go after her. Aoki held him back. "Leave her be. She needs some time alone."

Iori shook her head sadly. "She needs more than that, I think."

The pixie girl closed the door to the suite and faced Taichi.

"I'm sorry. But you have to consider the possibility that she's not coming back."

The two men stared at her.

Then she flopped on the couch and grabbed a fistful of popcorn from the bowl.

"So, is there anything good on TV?"


	6. Waking Up

**Chapter 6: Waking Up**

Iori kicked back on the enormous L-shaped couch. She held the TV remote for the big flat-panel in her left hand, then she picked up the brochure that was laying next to it in her right. "Wow, did you know this thing has over 800 channels?"

The two men continued to stare at Iori. Taichi finally was able to force out some words. "What do you mean.. 'she might not be coming back'?"

"Eh?" She was busy clicking through the channels.

Taichi then walked around the couch and stood in front of her, blocking her view of the enormous screen. She tried to lean around him. "Hey, your mother wasn't a glass maker. Move it, will ya?"

Taichi put his hands on his hips. "No. First you explain that remark."

She turned off the TV and looked at him. Then she sighed.

"Okay, you better sit down."

Taichi sat on the couch. Aoki discretely moved back a few steps behind them, but not so far away that he could not listen.

Taichi was now sitting just a couple feet away from his first love. He was finally able to get a good look at her. She was very thin, almost anorexic, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not slept in a couple days. He saw a faded mark over her left eye. Then he noticed her wrists had what looked like bruises.

He became alarmed. "Iori, what in the world happened to you? Are you okay?"

She shrugged, "Who, me? I'm fine."

"No you're not. Did someone strike you?"

She frowned at him. "It's none of your business."

"Yes it is! If someone hurt you then.."

She interrupted him. "Then what? You have to jump in and stop it? You have to rescue me?"

"Well, uh, yeah. You need help.."

She shook her head. "Oh, Taichi. Just look at you. I can almost hear the gears whirring in your head. You want to save me, just like Inaban."

"Is that why she brought you here?"

"I guess. I'm still not sure why she didn't just drag me over to her place."

Originally Taichi and Inaba were living in separate dorms at Kyosho University. They had graduated at the end of the spring term, about a month ago. Inaba was temporarily staying at her father's house, while Taichi had moved back in with his parents. Rina, of course, was absolutely thrilled with the situation, much to Taichi's chagrin.

After a two week hunt they had finally found a modest two-bedroom apartment that was in a good location and overlooked a park. They had jointly signed the lease. The move-in date was the first of the month, right after their mini-honeymoon.

He frowned. "Nevermind that. The point is, you can't go back to where you were living. Not if you are being hurt. Look, you can stay with me. Stay here in the suite for now. It's rented for two more nights. Then I'll talk to Rina and see if I can get her to share her room with you. Our new apartment isn't ready yet, but it has two bedrooms. The second one is supposed to be Inaba's new home office, but for now we can put you up in there with a futon. Nobody knows the address. He can't hurt you if he can't find you."

She looked at him sympathetically. "Taichi... you are so innocent. It's very touching. But frankly you need to wake the hell up."

"Huh?"

She put her hands in her lap and decided to come clean with him. "It is so easy to play your heartstrings, and I wasn't even trying. Any girl can play you like a fiddle."

"I don't understand."

She patted his head. He flinched a bit. "Taichi, you're such a wonderful man. You have this wonderful selfless streak that is very admirable in its own way. But it makes you really, really, vulnerable. Any girl with half a brain can take advantage of you in a minute."

He just looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Ok, I'll level with you. Here's the thing: You are the kind of guy who can basically fall in love with any girl, no matter how flawed she might be. You will put up with endless crap and always remain faithful no matter what. That is as rare as hen's teeth. If Inaban slept around with ten men a week you'd still be faithful to her. That kind of dedication in a man is so incredibly rare.

"And girls can sense that. It's a very powerful attraction. You're a shiny diamond in a mudfield of rotten men. So what happened is that the first girl with enough guts to approach you grabbed you, the very first girl, going all the way back to high school when you were only 16. I'm sure it wasn't deliberate or calculated. It just happened. It was natural, really. She was the first girl that confessed to you. And you've stayed faithful ever since."

He remained silent.

She looked up at the ceiling. "I admit that right at the start I had this unreasonable feeling that she somehow 'stole' you from me. It was ridiculous, of course. You actually confessed your love to me first, and I turned you down. That's my loss, my fault. It was because I wasn't ready. You weren't either, by the way, but no matter."

She gave him a wan smile. "Don't worry. I won't steal you away now. I wouldn't do that even if you invited me to sleep in your honeymoon suite, or even if you asked me to move in with you."

Then she gave him a sly grin. "Oh wait, you actually did both of those things already..."

His eyes widened at the realization.

She giggled, "Hee hee. I'm just kidding. Taichi, you are so easy to..." Then she looked down. "Don't worry, I won't. It's too late for me anyway. I'm damaged goods."

He learned forward in earnest, "What, no! You're not!"

She gave him another wan smile. "No, not in your eyes. That's what makes you so wonderful. You can love anybody. That's precious."

She looked up at the ceiling again. "Anyway, back in high school I got over myself and became happy for you two. You seemed to be one of those opposites-attract couples. I thought it would really work out.

"But then she was always picking fights with you. And I couldn't help but notice that the intensity of those fights always seemed to be in direct proportion to the amount of time she spent with you. It happened over and over. Eventually she'd leave you for a while and things would cool off. And then, during the time you spent apart, her feelings would slowly rebuild. She would miss you more and more, day by day, until eventually she'd have a teary confession and come back into your open arms, and everything would be forgiven. It's been that way ever since, including in college, am I right?

He nodded slowly.

"Uh-huh. And I bet that the most intense love-making between you two usually happened as soon as you got back together. Am I right again?"

He remained silent.

"Yep. And so then things would go swimmingly for a bit, everything hunky dory. But then after a few weeks or months she'd get mopey, then she'd become distant. Then she'd get cranky. Then something trivial would happen that would set her off, so you try to be reasonable and accommodating, which makes her even more mad - because you _don't_ get mad. And that sets up the next big fight and she splits again. And so the cycle goes on and on."

He held his head in his hands. "What you do expect me to do? Pretend to get mad?"

She touched his arm. "No. That wouldn't be you. You're a wonderful man, Taichi." She sighed, "You're a wonderful man who is in love with a very mixed up girl."

He looked at her with pleading eyes. He knew that she understood him. And she understood Inaba. After what had happened during Heartseed's many trials almost seven years ago, he knew that she understood their faults and weaknesses better than anybody.

He needed her help. "Okay. I think you might be right.."

_Oh Taichi, it would be so easy for me to grab you. I could do it right this second. It would be effortless. But no, it's too late, and I'm too damaged._

_But in another world, if we had started all over? If I understood you, if I understood myself? Sigh. I would have taken care of you, protected you._

_Loved you._

"But, Iori, this doesn't explain why you think Inaba might not come back. Why do you think that?"

She thought for a moment. "It's a pity she ran out. I wish she was here. I could counsel her, maybe even help save your marriage. Oh well, that's Inaban. She's a runner."

"What do you mean, a 'runner'?"

"What I mean is that Inaban knows she is usually the smartest person in the room. And so she's strong, independent, sarcastic, even aloof. But that creates its own set of vulnerabilities. If she has a personal problem that she can't handle, she breaks. At first she pretends the problem doesn't exist, and when you ask her if something is wrong she denies it. But when her weakness gets exposed, when the problem becomes so bad that it becomes obvious to everyone around her, she panics. She runs away and hides."

"But why is she running now?"

"Isn't it obvious? Don't you see it?"

Taichi just looked at her helplessly.

"C'mon, Taichi. I've given you enough clues, so wake up and think. Think about what I just said. Then think about what she said when she ran. C'mon, work it out. I'll wait."

He furrowed his brow in concentration. "You forced her to admit to herself that she was unsure if she loved me..."

"Uh-huh."

".. and she has doubts about herself. But she couldn't handle those doubts, not alone..

"Keep going."

".. but she refused to share her doubts with anyone, or ask for help .."

"Yes."

".. and so you forced her secret doubts out in the open. You exposed her. So she ran."

"Very good. I think there's hope for you yet, Taichi."

He looked at her in earnest. "But what can I do?"

"For now, nothing. Let me do the rescuing this time, okay? I have a theory about what her real problem is. But I need some time alone with her to be sure. Basically I need some time to talk with her in private."

"To talk about what?"

"I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway. I'm not 100% sure yet." _And if I'm wrong, Inaban, you can slap me. Slap me as hard as you want._

"Sure about what?"

"Sorry, that's classified."

His eyes continued to plead. _He's like a sad puppy.._

"Ok, here's a hint: I need to confront her about something. She won't like it. It needs to be a situation where she can't run away from me, at least not until I finish my confrontation. I might need your help to arrange that."

Taichi leaned forward and nodded vigorously. "Okay, I'll give you anything. Anything you need. Anything at all."

"Thanks." _He's such a lovable pushover._

"All I care about is that she stop hurting. I now know that if anyone can save her, it's you."

_Hmm, very good. He's deferring to someone else to rescue her this time. He's not just leaping in blindly himself. Maybe there's hope for them both._

Meanwhile Aoki was listening with rapt attention. Iori turned and smiled at him. "You taking notes back there?"

Aoki was startled. "Uh, no.. Should I? I'm learning a lot."

She chuckled, then she did a double-take. She stared at his muscular physique. "Woah. Aoki, when did you become such a hunk?"

Aoki started to fidget, his face turning red.

She leaned her chin on the back of the couch. "You know, if we could somehow magically transplant Taichi's personality into that hot bod of yours.. rowr.. there'd be more girls chasing you than Elvis." She smacked her lips at him.

"Really? I'm gonna definitely take notes so I can become more like Taichi!" He ran to find paper and pencil.

She sighed. _Cute but hopeless._

While Aoki was rummaging through the writing desk, Iori got up to get another soda from the fridge.

After all, there wasn't much any of them could do until Inaba surfaced again.

Meanwhile, Taichi got up himself and went to the cupboard that contained Inaba's purse and cellphone. He checked her cell. The call log showed five unanswered calls from her father. No voicemail.

Then he checked his own cell. He saw a text message from his boss at the JRCS reminding him about their meeting on Tuesday regarding the ongoing relief project for the victims of the _higashi nihon daishinsai_. He shook his head. Such a terrible tragedy. The disaster had happened eight months ago. The epicenter was 70km offshore from Tōhoku. It created a tsunami that destroyed over 120,000 buildings and took at least 15,000 lives. Taichi had joined the team that was focusing on the care of the children, over 1,500 of which had lost one or both parents.

Taichi graduated with a degree in Social Work, and with it he had jumped into his new career right out of college. He worked 12 hour days, six days a week. He would have worked there 24/7 if his sensei would have let him. It was his esteemed sensei that had flatly ordered him to take the four days off for his wedding and honeymoon. He cheerfully gave Taichi the time off even though he was just hired and had not yet accrued any vacation time. It was the minimum time off that he would accept.

Taichi looked out the french windows. The sun was beginning to set over the city skyline.

_Inaba, please come back. I love you, and I know you love me too. Iori says she can help us._

Then his cellphone buzzed. A couple seconds later Inaba's red cellphone chimed.

There was a new text message waiting on both phones.

He read his, then he checked hers. It was the same message.

He couldn't believe what he saw on the screen. He read the text message again. He stared into space.

Then he absent-mindedly dropped both cellphones on the rug.

Iori saw him do it. She walked over, soda in hand, and picked up Inaba's cell. She read the screen.

"Oh my."

* * *

Inaba was sitting alone and brooding.

She was seated by herself in a booth in a small lunch café that was located about three blocks from the hotel. Mrs. Nagase had loaned her enough money to pay for her bus fare, plus a little extra. It was enough for her to buy a cup of ramen noodles. She slurped them up using her chopsticks. As she did so she stared at the formica tabletop, lost in thought.

_Why am I such a mess?_

_What is wrong with me?_

She continued to brood.

Her stomach felt a little nauseous. _Ugh, I'm so stressed. I need to keep these noodles down._

Then she heard a kitten's high-pitched mew. What?

The mewing sound was coming from inside her pocket. She put her hand in her dress and pulled out the object that was making the cute kitty noises.

It was Iori's cellphone. She had forgotten to give it back to her. The cover of the cellphone was stenciled with a cartoon drawing of a trio of kittens fighting over a ball of yarn.

A new text message had just arrived. _It's probably Iori texting me. Taichi doesn't know this number._

But she did not read the message. Not yet.

It was because she now sensed someone sitting in the booth opposite her. She already knew who it was.

She heard a voice. "You are very interesting, Himeko Yaegashi."

She slowly looked up and said, "Go to hell."

Heartseed made a small smile. "Yes, so very fascinating."

Her anger was building. "Go [bleep] yourself."

"Hmm, I do not think that is anatomically possible."

She leaned forward, intending to get up and leave.

He held her arm. She flinched.

He looked at her. "Please wait. I want to give you a gift. Think of it as a reward for being so interesting."

She scowled at him, "A reward?"

"Yes. I want to give you a thank-you present."

Inaba glared and waited. "Well?"

"Read your phone."

She did. Her eyes grew wide.

She fumbled at the phone and read the message. It confirmed it. Then she leapt from the booth and ran out of the café.

Heartseed smiled to himself as he remained seated. He could still hear her outside whooping like a madwoman.

She was whooping for joy.

It was because a girl had just awoken after four long years of slumber.

Yes, everything was proceeding according to his plan. He began to think of all the new possibilities that were opening up. _This will be quite fascinating. I can't wait to see what will happen between them._

But he did not notice that he was being watched himself.

For someone else was discretely observing him, unseen. Someone with dead eyes.

Someone whose idea of 'interesting' was very different from his own.

It was Rina.


	7. Infiltration Op

**Chapter 7: Infiltration Op**

Inaba began a slow trot to the hospital where Yui was now convalescing. She knew the location, about three kilometers down the main road towards the river. She would have to backtrack past the hotel and her old high school to get there. She had exhausted her remaining funds on the ramen noodles and didn't have enough money for a second bus fare.

After a few minutes of jogging she started to pant. She never was a particularly good athlete in high school, not like Yui or Iori. Then she felt her stomach starting to cramp and she grimaced. She regretted slurping down those ramen noodles so quickly; she knew it wasn't healthy to try to run right away after eating. She allowed herself to slow to a fast walk.

During her rapid walk she knew she had some extra time to think. The hospital was still about two kilometers away. It was getting late in the day and the foot traffic was almost nonexistent, so she let her mind wander back over the past 36 hours.

_Does Taichi really love me? He says he does._

_Or does he love me simply because I happened to be his first?_

She thought back about their relationship together. She remembered that she was the one who initiated it way back in high school - that she, not he, was the one who first started it early in their freshman year. Granted, she wasn't acting as she normally would - Heartseed had messed with her mind to unleash her innermost desires and remove all of her inhibitions. And so she tried to undress and basically jump Taichi when they were alone in the school clubroom together. Fortunately her self-control returned seconds before things actually got out of hand. As she regained her senses she was, of course, completely mortified and embarrassed, and she quickly fled the room.

She fled not only out of simple embarrassment but also because she did not fully understand her own feelings, and it scared her. For the first time she realized that she had deep-seated feelings for Taichi, feelings that were more than just an idle fantasy or a daydream. Previously, in an attempt to help Inaba when Heartseed was swapping their bodies randomly, Taichi had sheepishly confessed to her that he had had impure thoughts about her and had fantasized about her. He was so mortified and shocked when she revealed to him that she had also experienced those same impure thoughts and fantasies just like he did. His obvious double-standard amused her to no end, and she had laughed uproariously at his expense. And so, to distract the poor girl from her shame, Taichi reminded her about his own earlier embarrassing incident with her. It worked. She smiled and forgot about her own embarrassment.

She marveled that he would deliberately make himself so vulnerable just to help her, that he would sacrifice his own ego just for her benefit. Such a wonderful man. So caring, so loving. And she realized that she wanted him even then. Not as a fantasy, but for real. She was falling in love with him.

She always took the next step in their relationship, not him. A few weeks later she stole her first kiss from him in a surprise lunge, his eyes wide. Then later, as he lay injured in bed and fearing she would lose him, she collapsed at his bedside. She cried out 'I love you!' over and over. He soon fully recovered, and shortly afterwards they became an official couple. As they continued to date each other through their high school years she often nestled her head in that warm safe spot under his arm, her eyes closed, at peace.

And they seemed to grow stronger together. Taichi explained that their differences were why they meshed so well together as a couple: they each helped to strengthen the other and to compensate for the other's weaknesses.

During those years he was always the perfect gentleman; he never took advantage of her. And so in their first year together in college she was the one who initiated their first union. It happened on that night after the party when they had both drank too much sake and she had snuck into his men-only dorm room that first time. And in that room she had pushed him to the floor. He didn't resist. She remembered his eyes. They were so wide, so innocent. And so she took him right then, straddling him, taking ownership of him, making him hers. The fact she was also losing her own virginity was inconsequential. If anything she used those stains to mark him, to brand him, to claim him as her own.

And then almost four years later she was the one who got impatient and finally blurted out the marriage proposal. It was Taichi, after getting over his initial shock, who had stutteringly accepted. Again it was unplanned. It just happened. She had later rationalized the act because she felt he would have never taken the next logical step on his own. She knew that no matter how much he loved her, it would have taken Mr. Squish forever for him to build up enough courage to actually put a ring on her finger. So she pushed him along again.

_And so I took you. Every step of the way I took you. Every step it was me: First longing, first kiss, first screw, first proposal, and finally marriage. Every step it was me pushing you along, grabbing you and shoving you forward. And you just went along with it. You went along because that's the kind of nice guy that you are._

_I forced this on you. Oh Taichi, I'm so sorry. Do you love me? Me? Not the idea, but the real me?_

_No, how can you? How can you possibly love such a selfish, impulsive, pushy, needy, insecure, messed-up girl? You could have fallen in love with anybody..._

_With anybody. I finally realize that now._

_Iori even warned me during our final fight. And I didn't listen to her. She was right. She was always right. I was just the most assertive girl in the group._

_I know I don't deserve you._

_It was only because I got to you first._

She felt that had to be the reason. He certainly didn't love her because of her looks, or so she believed. She felt that she was never a particularly attractive girl. Yui, now that girl was beautiful, an athlete and an expert in martial arts. And Iori? She had that delightful pixie-girl charm. But herself? She was just a pushy tomboy. Although he never said it, she felt that her father had wanted her to be a son, not a daughter. A son, the worthy successor to his empire.

She thought back to her own childhood. She had almost no memories of her mother, who separated from her father a few years after she was born. And her father always seemed to be away on business travel. She vaguely remembered having a series of Korean nannies during her earliest years. They came and went. She didn't even remember their names.

She had no real friends as a child. Oh, her nannies would occasionally take her to the park and she would interact a bit with the other children, but they came and went too. Other than that she was left more-or-less alone.

So she played mostly by herself. She never liked playing with dolls or anything inside. Outside, the house had a large back yard (by Japanese standards) with a garden, swings, and a portico, all surrounded by a brick wall. And behind that yard was an unlocked gate that led to an acre of unfenced woods that encompassed some housing plots that her father had kept undeveloped for financial speculation, waiting for their land value to increase for later resale.

And so, in that little secret woodland behind the house, she created her own private world purely out of her own vivid imagination. She imagined that she was a fairy princess who was swept away into a fantastical realm full of magic and wonder. She pretended the croaking frogs were talking to her, and she talked back to them. She saw the birds singing to her in the trees, so she talked back to them too. They were her friends.

Later she found a pair of squirrels. Each morning she set out a handful of walnuts for them. Eventually, after much coaxing, the squirrels grew tame enough to crawl up her back as she sat on the ground. One day they climbed into her hair as the little girl giggled and laughed. More friends.

And so Inaba played and lived out her fantasy as a woodland princess with all of her delightful make-believe friends.

All alone.

It was not until she entered high school that she had made her first real human friends: Iori, Taichi, Yui, and Aoki, the members of the StuCS. During the next three years Heartseed's numerous trials and tribulations had forged them like steel into a _nakama_ \- friends who were closer than family.

She had real friends. True friends. Their friendship was forged in the blast furnace of Heartseed's tests. They had become closer as friends in their struggle to survive than many people would ever experience in any relationship over a whole human lifetime, even between spouses or between a parent and child.

As graduation neared they wanted their nakama to last forever, and so at the end of their senior year they held a special ceremony (that Iori had set up) where they solemnly reaffirmed their vows to each other to remain together always.

But after graduation life got in the way as it so often did. Aoki failed to pass his college exams. He started taking odd jobs wherever he could find them. Between work and college it was becoming difficult to arrange regular meeting times that worked for everyone's busy schedules.

Then six months after graduation Aoki's attack on Yui tore the group asunder. Yui was in a coma and Aoki was locked up awaiting trial. In the immediate aftermath Iori blamed herself, Inaba, and Taichi in equal measure for not preventing what had happened. She said she intended to leave the group.

Iori left unspoken the second reason, the more important reason, about why she felt she needed to quit the nakama: that with only three of them remaining she did not want to become the hypotenuse in a potential love triangle between herself, Taichi and Inaba. Iori knew she would never poach Taichi away, but she also knew that Inaba was a very insecure person inside - too insecure for the trio to remain stable. Iori believed Inaba would always worry about it. So Iori thought it would be best if she left the group too.

Inaba wanted her to stay and confronted her about it. She forced Iori to reveal the second reason why she wanted to leave. Inaba then exploded at Iori's apparent lack of faith in Inaba's ability to trust her. Vicious recriminations were exchanged between them. They knew each other's psychological faults and weaknesses better than any psychologist ever could, and so they tore into each other, with Inaba going mostly on the offensive, flailing Iori apart inside. She attacked her brutally like Hannibal Lecter's verbal evisceration of Clarice Starling in _The Silence of the Lambs_. Inaba said some incredibly hurtful words, words that should not have been spoken, and those awful words destroyed their relationship permanently. Iori no longer wanted any contact with her. The next day Inaba quickly tried to apologize but the damage was already done. Iori was gone.

That left Inaba and Taichi as the remaining members, just the two of them. And so the group was disbanded.

And life went on.

* * *

Inaba continued to hurry on foot towards hospital. She was already getting winded, and the nausea in her stomach was growing, but she willed herself to push on. As she walked she let her mind drift again.

Inaba had enrolled at Kyosho University with a major in Biological Science. She chose that major to better understand Heartseed. But at the end of her third semester she switched to dual majors in Information Technology and Business Administration. She chose the latter at the behest of her father, and she chose the former because she was very adept with computers. It was a side effect of having spent so much time alone on her PC in her bedroom when she was in middle school. Her bedroom was enormous by Japanese standards, but it remained curiously empty except for her bed and the PC on her desk.

She had spent thousands of hours on that PC in her room. She roamed the Internet, wandering far and wide. She even made some online friends on some of the chat boards. But she was always careful to hide her real identity or location.

After graduation Taichi decided to follow Inaba, so he enrolled in the same university. He initially took science courses with an undeclared major, deliberately enrolling in the same bio-science classes as Inaba to be with her. By his third year he majored in Social Work to no one's surprise. He worked two jobs to pay for his tuition, which began to run him ragged with his full-time course load. Eventually because of his dedication he won a scholarship, which allowed him to cut back on his hours and see more of Inaba.

Both lived on campus in their respective dorms. Taichi had his own room on the second floor of the men's dorm, located in the back. There was a sturdy oak tree with a large branch right by his dorm window. Inaba's not-so-secret infiltrations through that window for overnight liaisons became a running joke among the other men in the dorm. None of them ratted out the couple. Indeed, Taichi often got high-fives in the hallway. The couple could have kept things going indefinitely if she didn't have so many fights with him. But eventually the dorm monitor heard her cussing him out behind closed doors and busted them both. He forced Taichi to move downstairs into a shared dorm room, one that was located next to his own. That permanently ended their shared nights together. Well, most of them anyway.

It also ended their fights.

Oddly, the enforced physical separation between them seemed to draw them closer together emotionally. The fact they could see each other only rarely seemed to heighten her feelings for him. The _tsundere_ became less tsun and more dere.

* * *

Inaba was nearing the large hospital facility. She huffed and puffed as she pulled out Iori's cellphone to read the SMS text message one more time. The message was simple and direct. _Yui Kiriyama is conscious. At hospital for eval. Wishes to see you. - Dr. Niban_

She went inside, crossed the main concourse, and walked rapidly up to the front information desk. A bored staff attendant was sitting at the desk reading a magazine. Inaba tried to catch her breath. "Hello.. I'm (pant) here to see (pant) Yui Kiriyama. Doctor Niban notified me (pant). I'm a good friend of hers. (wheeze)"

The attendant finally looked up from her magazine, looking clearly annoyed. She silently and curtly pointed at the sign next to the desk. Visiting hours were over. Inaba would have to come back tomorrow.

"But..."

The attendant spoke in a haughty tone: "Only staff and immediate family may see patients after hours. Come back tomorrow. Good day." The attendant went back to reading her magazine.

Inaba turned around.. now what? Walk back the three kilometers again? To where? Where was she going to stay the night anyway? She felt gloomy.

Then to her left she heard a sound. It was faint. "Pssst!"

She turned and squinted. She spied a large open hallway off the main concourse, about 20 meters long, that ran parallel to the main sidewalk out front. The sign above the start of the hallway read 'Out-Patient Clinic'. Even though clinic hours were long over the doors to the clinic were still apparently open. At the far end of the hallway she could just barely make out Taichi, Aoki, and Iori. Their heads were poking around the corner, looking like a trio of whack-a-moles. Aoki was making silly hand motions. Taichi slapped Aoki's hands and made more sensible motions for her to go outside and up the sidewalk. Iori was nodding her head in agreement. Then all three heads disappeared.

She rolled her eyes. _Oh great. They think they are The Three Musketeers or something._

Inaba sighed and turned again for the outside door. Before leaving she took a quick glance behind her. The staff attendant was still engrossed in her magazine. Inaba nonchalantly walked outside, then turned left and walked casually down the sidewalk towards the locked side entrance.

A beefy arm pushed open the side door and waved like a maniac. She heard Aoki's hoarse whispering, "C'mon!"

Inaba stopped. _Those chuckleheads are going to get themselves arrested within two minutes._ She wanted no part of their crazy scheme, whatever it was.

But she did want to see Yui. She was awake, upstairs, waiting. For her friends.

So she went inside.

Why did she do it? It was because she knew that those three doofuses could never be able to successfully infiltrate a major national Japanese medical hospital without getting caught. Not in a million years.

But with her? With her leadership? They just might be able to pull it off.

After all, she was an expert in the art of infiltration, having successfully snuck into Taichi's dorm room dozens of times even after the dorm monitor was specifically looking for her. The tree branch next to his dorm window had even been cut down.

But they could never stop a determined Inaba. And she relished the challenge. She still successfully snuck into his new front side dorm room (albeit less often), and they never caught her again.

 _Those three idiots._ First, she made sure they were all looking at her face. She made a zip-lipped motion: _silence_ , then she pointed at her own eyes and then pointed down the side hallway towards a sign that read 'Linen Closet'. Her platoon understood. She crouched and took point. She took some steps, did a quick glance around, then continued to creep forward, keeping low. The other three bunched up close behind her. They bumped her. She shoved them all back and glared at them, _back off, you morons!_ Aoki fell on his butt and yelped. Iori fell on top of him. She made a small 'Oof!' noise but otherwise managed to keep quiet. Taichi helped them both up.

Inaba cringed, hoping there was no security guard on patrol nearby. She made a rapid round-up motion with her arm to order the Three Stooges to hurry up and regroup behind her.

The linen closet was located just ahead past the next intersection. Inaba stopped and waited for the Three Caballeros to bump into her again, which of course they did. She gave them the obligatory death glare and they backed off. At least this time they didn't fall over each other.

She did a quick scan around the intersection, checking all directions. Then she saw it. It was mounted above a closed door, 12 meters down the intersecting hallway, a rotating closed-circuit camera. She had to gamble that the camera would not see the relatively small cross-section of her forehead poking out around the corner, or at least that the guard on duty watching the cameras would be inattentive. But she wouldn't gamble on the guard seeing a quartet of bumbling trespassers running past. She waited and watched the camera intently. The camera made a 180 degree pass on the Y axis every 30 seconds, completing one cycle per minute.

She waited. Then she turned to face her team and did a countdown with her five fingers: 5..4..3..2..1.. _Go!_

Aoki got excited and jumped the gun. He ended up pushing the others. All three of them ended up sprawled on the linoleum floor directly in front of the camera that was quickly swiveling in their direction.

Taichi got up fastest. He pulled up Inaba and they sprinted past the camera. Aoki grabbed and carried Iori.

They made it. It was close.

Inaba's eyes were not difficult to read. _Aoki, I'm gonna kill you._ He made a helpless apologetic shrug. Taichi grinned at his wife. She read it. _This is just like old times._

She returned a small smile back to her husband. _Yeah, it is_. Iori caught the exchange of eye contact. _Good_.

The quartet crept into the linen closet and closed the door behind them. It was pitch dark. Inaba fumbled for the light switch and turned it on. The closet was a tight fit. Aoki's muscular bulk did not help.

Inaba finally took a good breath. "Okay. Let's see what we got here.." She started digging through the laundy hamper in front of her. The others got the hint and starting digging into the other hampers. Iori found a nurses' frock that fit her. Inaba pulled out an extra-large orderly's blue tunic and slacks and threw them at Aoki's head. He caught them with his face. He didn't protest and meekly put them on.

Taichi found a doctor's lab coat and wore it. Inaba found a second one and put it on herself.

"Now listen everybody," Inaba hissed, "Taichi and I are the doctors. I'll walk with my colleague up front. I will greet anybody who approaches. You two follow behind and try not to make eye contact with anybody. I will do _all_ the talking. You three will keep quiet. Got it?"

They nodded in agreement. "Good." Then she paused. "Wait, what floor is Yui on?" The staff attendant had never said. "Dang it.."

Taichi approached his wife. "I called ahead and asked before we got here. Floor 12."

She smiled at him again. _Good man._ "Right, let's go."

Now wearing their disguises, they walked with purpose up the hall and back to the front desk. On their way through the clinic, Inaba spotted a stethoscope laying by a coffee station near the restroom. She grabbed it and nonchalantly put it around her neck. As they approached the front desk she walked slightly behind Dr. Taichi, trying not to show her face to the staff attendant at the front desk.

They walked past the attendant. She never looked up from her magazine.

They reached the elevators. Inaba gave a quick sigh of relief. She hit the Up button.

They went up together to floor 12.

* * *

They reached Yui's door without incident. The door was shut. They couldn't hear anything. Aoki shoved his way past Taichi and pressed against Inaba's back. He was so eager he was practically shaking.

Inaba turned around. "No, Aoki, you wait right here. Do not come inside until we say it's okay. Got it?"

"But.. why?"

What kind of question was that? Didn't he understand? "Because, you moron, how do you think she might react if she sees the person who almost killed her? You put her into a coma! Look, I know how much she means to you, and I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt her. But we don't want you to frighten her; you know she's androphobic. So here is what we will do: Iori and I will go in and talk to her first. If we think it's okay and she agrees, you and Taichi can come in. But not until us two girls talk to her first and she says it is okay for you to see her, got it?"

Aoki's eyes were pleading with her. "But.. Inaba, you don't understand.. None of you understand.."

"Aoki.. please.."

"No! She won't be scared of me. I know it!"

And then they heard it through the door. A girl's voice. Faint but clear.

"Yoshi.. is that you?"

Aoki shoved his way past Inaba. She said, "Hey, wait! Stop!" But there was no way she could halt the hulking man. He ran past and went inside.

The remaining trio were caught off-guard.

And at that moment a large hand clamped itself on Inaba's shoulder. She froze. It was a large orderly. He was frowning. Two other big orderlies were with him. They looked ready and eager.

A man in a white lab coat then stepped forward. He addressed Inaba directly, "Young lady, I believe that is mine."

Dr. Niban then removed the stethoscope from around Inaba's neck.

The trio continued to stare at the doctor. Inaba was speechless.

He went on. "I don't think you quite realize the seriousness of what you have done here. Yoshifumi Aoki is a convicted violent felon. You have just enabled him to violate a strict no-contact court order. You must have known it was a condition of his parole."

He motioned the two big orderlies to go inside the room to bring out Aoki. The doctor looked at them all with doleful eyes. He took no enjoyment in what he was about to do.

"I am calling the police. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you are all going to jail.."

Inaba thought, _Oh no... I did it again. It's all my fault.. Again.. All my fault.._

".. and one of you will be going away for a long, long time."

* * *

**A/N:**

Dear reader, I have been careful in this story to explain to you the essential background information about the characters that you need to know from the original anime in order to follow the plot. Indeed, if I did my job correctly, you should be able to follow this story pretty well without any familiarity with the anime at all.

And so, by necessity, there will be spoilers for the anime in this story. In particular, this story assumes that all 17 (not 13) episodes of _Kokoro Connect_ have taken place. The biggest and most obvious spoiler is that Taichi finally chose Inaba at the end of the final episode (Ep 17), a fact that is rather difficult to avoid in this story for obvious reasons.

Now, I do know that many of you have not seen episodes 14-17 because they are not available in western markets. However, some spoilers for those late episodes cannot be helped, and although I'll try not to gratuitously spill them all, some late spoilers are going to be inevitable given the nature of this story. Sorry about that.

-HuuskerDu


	8. The Tale of Sleeping Beauty

**Chapter 8: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty**

Inaba brooded under the watchful eye of Dr. Niban. She mentally kicked herself for thinking that those three idiots could have snuck in without getting noticed. Their bumbling around must have caught someone's attention. Or somebody heard Aoki's squawking.

She was wrong.

Dr. Niban said, "Grabbing my stethoscope while I was busy in the restroom was a mistake, young lady. Doctors tend to notice that kind of thing."

Inaba looked down in shame. It really was her fault after all.

The patient's room remained oddly silent. Dr. Niban grew concerned about the delay. He raised his voice, "Hurry up and bring him out."

Nothing.

He was about to motion the third orderly to enter the room when he heard a voice. It was low and had a tone of uncertainty. "Uh, sir? You need to see this."

The doctor turned and looked at the trio, as if to search for an explanation for what he had just heard inside. Taichi blinked his eyes in confusion. Iori gave a blank stare. Inaba was still looking into space as she continued to inwardly blame herself for the debacle.

Iori was the one who recovered her senses first. She had a grin. She quickly came to a decision: She grabbed Inaba's wrist and marched right inside the room. The orderly holding Inaba's shoulder was taken by surprise and let go. The doctor was also caught off guard. He then quickly recovered himself and went in after them, followed by the third orderly and finally by a befuddled Taichi.

They all went inside the room. Taichi entered last.

And there she was.

Taichi saw a stunning tableaux. It could have been a portrait painted by a Raphael or a Michelangelo.

It was an image that he would remember for the rest of his life.

Yui's bed was propped up. She was smiling.

And she looked.. wonderful.

Even in her sitting position Taichi could see that she had to be at least 6 centimeters taller than that shy petite girl in high school. Although her arms and legs had thinned somewhat, she was now a fully mature 21-year old woman. Over the years her mother and her sister had lovingly taken care of her. They had washed her hair and her body, trimmed her nails, and groomed her with exquisite care.

They had turned her into Sleeping Beauty.

Taichi remembered that Yui was always self-conscious about her somewhat flat figure in high school. Not any more. She was full-figured and wonderous to behold, with her long strawberry blond hair draped down behind her shoulders, shining and fragrant as it framed her gorgeous green eyes.

And in that tableaux Taichi saw that Yui's sister, Anzu Kiriyama, was sitting at Yui's bedside on the left. She was looking across the bed at the man on the right, who was kneeling with a bowed head. Standing close behind the man were Inaba and Iori in respectful silence, as if they were two angels waiting in attendance at a beatification. The two orderlies were still near the door, wondering what to do.

For the man's head was bowed in humble supplication, and Taichi saw that Yui had gently placed her hand on that head as if to give him her blessing, like a renaissance madonna to a saint.

For it was only a moment earlier that that same beautiful woman had spoken the soft words that had stunned every other person within earshot - words that had stopped the orderlies right in their tracks.

"Yoshi, can you please forgive me?"

Taichi was bewildered. She was the one asking for forgiveness.. from him?

And the man kept his head down. "Only if you forgive me as well."

She smiled like an angel as she lovingly touched his blond head. "You have nothing to be forgiven for. But if it makes you feel better, then I do."

He finally, slowly, raised his head. And Taichi finally saw the man's face.

That face. How to describe that face? It was not the face of a man who realized that he could now be released from his own everlasting torment. Nor was it the face of a man who knew he would finally be exonerated for his supposed crimes. Nor was it the face of a man who finally could reconcile himself with his dearest friends by sharing them the truth. The real truth.

It was the face of the man who was gazing into the eyes of the love of his life, the eyes he thought he would never see again. And those brilliant emerald eyes, so bright, so alive, were now gazing back into his own.

"Yui.."

And even in that supreme moment, reunited with his dearest love, he was careful not to touch her in any way.

Because he had never touched her.

Ever.

You see, back in high school Yui had confessed to her friends that she suffered from androphobia - the irrational fear of men - after Heartseed had forced out her secret during one of his 'phenomenons'. At first she felt ashamed that her secret had come tumbling out, and she feared rejection. But her friends reassured her that they would support her no matter what happened, and so she resolved to face her phobia and eventually defeat it.

Aoki was actually a bit relieved at her revelation, as he never really understood the confusing signals she was always sending him. She had repeatedly rejected his love confessions, yet she would always then quickly admit that she did like him, very much so in fact, and she steadfastly offered to remain his friend, and indeed she became one of his closest friends. They shared a kind of intimacy between them, though it was always platonic.

Normally when most men get LJBF'ed* they move on. But not Aoki. He was resolute in his feelings for her. And so their relationship evolved into a kind of chivalric romance. He was Sir Lancelot, and she was his Guinevere.

His love was fueled by passion, but also by respect. He would remain faithful and true to his untouchable princess. At first he did not know why she seemed to be locked away in a tall tower. Then he learned that his princess was trapped inside a tower, a prison, of her own making located within her own mind, a prison she very much wished to escape from.

And so he said he would do whatever she asked to help.

And so they began to practice. Sometimes they practiced alone and sometimes with Taichi and the others. She would carefully approach Aoki (or Taichi), take a deep breath, then quickly touch or poke her index finger at the man's shoulder and back away quickly with her eyes tightly closed. Then she would steel her nerves and do it again.

She found that her practice touches seemed easier for her to do when she did it with Aoki. She felt it was because she knew she would be completely safe with the man who loved her so dearly. But her irrational phobia still kept her at bay.

She was living in a small singles apartment near the community college where she was working on her degree in law enforcement. She said she felt safest there in her own rooms, so they continued practicing there.

Yui explained it to them. "It really seemed to be working. I was practicing touching Yoshi. I was able to get up to four or five repetitions before I got the shakes. Then we'd quit and try it again another day when I felt better. I was improving, getting better. I was determined to get over my phobia so I kept doggedly practicing with him, approaching him and touching him again and again. Eventually I worked up to holding his shoulder with my hand. Later I was able to actually hold onto his arm for almost a minute. That day was a big breakthrough, believe me." Indeed, the whole group celebrated that day with a big pizza party. Iori even began to tease her about it. "My word, Yui, you are such a forward girl!"

She went on. "Finally, I told him I was ready to try a hug. A real hug. He promised he wouldn't move. I hadn't given any boy a hug ever. Well, not since I hugged Yoshi during my big emotional breakdown back in high school. That was the only time. I knew it was risky move to make, to try to move up to something that.. intimate.. as the next step, but I thought I was ready for it."

Aoki looked at them. "I thought she was ready too. I encouraged her to try." He looked down. "But she wasn't."

"No.. I wasn't.. It was my fault. I moved things along too fast."

She continued to explain, "So I took a big breath, closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around him in a great big bear hug. I shouldn't have done that."

She looked down. "At first it felt okay. But then something triggered inside me. I think it was because I could physically feel that my whole body was pressed against his. That pressure, of a man's body pressed against mine, suddenly awakened the deepest fears of my rape phobia. I wasn't ready for my reaction. I went rigid. Then I screamed."

Aoki spoke up, "Honestly, I didn't know what to do. Our rule was that I must always remain absolutely still no matter what. And I did, always. But her arms were locked around me, and she was screaming and screaming. She wouldn't move. She wouldn't let go. I told her to just release her arms but she didn't. She was hysterical. Her arms were still locked around me, frozen. She wasn't letting go. She just kept screaming and screaming."

Taichi remembered that part from the court trial, from the neighbor girl in the adjacent apartment who testified on the witness stand that she had heard those awful screams of pure terror.

"What could I do? What would you have done in my place?" He looked around the room expecting an answer. No one did.

"So I did the only thing I could do. I tried, as gently as I could, to get her off of me. So I raised my elbows and put my hands around her arms to try to break her grapple."

Yui then said, "And with my eyes closed and screaming my head off, I felt his hands on my arms. Someone was grabbing me! All my memories of the attack came flooding back. I panicked. I thought he was that man who was trying to rape me. So my martial-arts reflexes kicked in."

She sighed and shook her head. "I did a move for self-defense during a grapple attack. It's illegal in martial arts. I had planned the move ahead of time if ever I was attacked that way again. I had even practiced it with a cushion taped to a pole. So I did the move like I practiced it. I thought I had proper form: I contracted my abdominal muscles, kept my chin down, and hit him with the top of my head. It should have worked.."

Aoki chimed in. "I saw her getting ready to do it, so I moved my forearm in front of my face to protect myself. I had no time to think. It was just reflex." He looked down. "So instead of head-butting me, she smashed her head right into my arm. She nearly broke it."

That explained why the forensic analyst was able to match the DNA of the hairs on his forearm with those found embedded her in skull.

Yui said, "I knew it was a risky move, and it's a prohibited martial arts fighting technique, but I thought the worst that could happen would be that I would have given myself a headache, or maybe a concussion.."

The doctor tsk-tsked. "You gave yourself a serious skull fracture. It was a traumatic brain injury. The frontal lobe was seriously lacerated."

Aoki said, "I felt her skull crack. I felt it! Then I saw all that blood.. She wasn't breathing. I thought she was dead.."

Iori finally spoke, with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Aoki.."

He went on. "I fumbled for my cell and called an ambulance. So much blood. I thought she was dead. Then I called the police on myself. They took me away."

He looked at them. "I didn't know she survived. They didn't tell me! I blamed myself for killing her."

He shook his head. "I'm so sorry Yui. We should have taken it slower. Progressing to a hug was going too fast. Remember how we all pushed her?"

Taichi, Inaba, and Iori all looked at themselves guiltily. They were just as responsible for pushing Yui along, for encouraging her to fight her androphobia more aggressively. They all kept pushing Yui to keep on practicing, to increase her level of touch. And so they all blamed themselves for the tragedy. It contributed to the group breaking up.

Aoki continued. "It was four days before the police even told me she had survived! Four days! During those four days they interrogated me non-stop. Criminal suspects in Japan don't have the right to have an attorney during an interrogation." This was true. There is no _habeus corpus_ in Japan; the police could legally hold a suspect for interrogation for days if they wished. "So I eventually broke down and confessed: I killed her. I even believed it myself. After all, I encouraged her to keep trying. I know we all did, but it was my fault most of all. I could have stopped her or slowed her down at any time. I didn't. I killed her. I thought she was dead. I didn't want to live anymore. They put a confession document in front of me and I signed it.

"And then I learned she was alive. Alive! She survived! I recanted my confession. I begged to see her. I told them she would explain everything. The doctors didn't yet know she wasn't going to awaken. I thought she might wake up. I clung to that desperate hope. I prayed for her to survive and wake up again. Please, please, wake up.."

He stared at the floor. "The police grew angry. They even kicked me. I was making it harder for them to close the case. I insisted on a trial, that I was innocent. So I was arraigned before a magistrate. I finally got an attorney and pleaded not guilty, and a trial was scheduled.

"My attorney strongly urged me to plead guilty to try to get a reduced sentence. He explained to me that the conviction rate in Japanese criminal courts is over 99%. He said it was my only chance. But I said no. I told him that when Yui regained consciousness she would explain everything. I knew she would."

He sighed, "Only later did I learn that she would probably never wake up ever again."

So that explained the oddity of Aoki's quiet resignation during the trial. He never did fully explain what had actually happened, not even to his own attorney. He knew that without Yui there to explain what happened that nobody would believe his story. His rather far-fetched claim that the victim had done it to herself would only appear to have been coldly self-serving.

The doctor stepped forward. "Ah. I think I understand now. I can explain the rest."

They all looked at him.

"You see, our Miss Kiriyama here had an undetected defect in the forward metopic suture of her cranium. It's called congenital craniosynostosis. It's actually a rather common birth defect. The human cranium consists of five distinct bony plates. The plates are stitched together by four large sutures: The coronal suture, the metopic suture, the sagittal suture, and the lambdoid suture. Now, normally these sutures all close at birth or shortly thereafter. In Miss Kiriyama's case the metopic suture never fully closed after birth. This made the top of her forehead, normally the strongest part of the human skull, its weakest point. It went undetected her whole life. It remained undiagnosed because, well, nobody was looking for it. It's fully closed now post-surgery, of course, but the brain damage was done.

"And that brain damage was actually quite severe. As I said, the frontal lobe was seriously lacerated." He looked at his patient. "Frankly, the fact that you woke up at all is a miracle. Especially after almost four years. In my clinical experience as a neurologist I have never seen that happen after that long a period of time, and with this level of recovery."

Iori said, "A miracle.."

Taichi nodded. "The timing. 24 hours after Aoki's release? That is not a coincidence."

Inaba glared at him. "Oh you do NOT think for one second that Heartseed.."

He grinned. "You explain it yourself then. The doctor just said it was a miracle."

Inaba crossed her arms. "The timing is just a coincidence." Then she remembered what Heartseed told her in the diner. _I want to give you a gift. Think of it as a reward for being so interesting._

Iori sighed. "And so we all thought Heartseed had done it. That he somehow took over Aoki's mind and made him attack her. You think maybe he brought her back?"

Inaba wasn't ready to give him that much credit. She scowled. "Oh, Heartseed had a hand in that attack, all right. I'd bet my right arm. He did something to Yui. Look, he's just playing with us again. Don't you see it? This is another one of his damn 'phenomenons.' It was four years this time before he reset everything back to normal. Four years! So if anything he's getting worse."

Dr. Niban piped up, "Excuse me, who is this 'Heartseed'?"

Inaba thought quickly. "Uh, that's the nickname we gave to Yui's original attacker. Right, Yui?"

Yui caught on. "Oh, right. Yes. Heartseed is the name we gave to the man who attacked me in middle school."

The doctor looked at them, "So you think this 'Heartseed' was behind her injury? Do you mind explaining how exactly?"

Inaba kept spinning her yarn. "Well, of course, don't you see? He's basically hiding deep inside her mind - the basis of her phobia. So when Yui grappled Aoki she awakened the monster inside her head, Heartseed, and she flipped out. He was her original attacker, after all. It all goes back to Heartseed. None of this would have happened if not for him." She pointedly looked at her companions when she spoke the last sentence.

The doctor looked a bit dubious. "I see..."

Meanwhile Iori was looking thoughtful.

Aoki was ignoring the conversation. He was sitting respectfully next to his princess. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

And she did the same with him.

Then Yui blinked her eyes. She saw that Aoki looked.. different somehow. More confident. More assertive. More, well, manly. Then it finally registered. She looked at Aoki's toned muscles and bulked-up physique. She marvelled at his new body. "Yoshi.. you're.."

Iori completed her sentence. ".. a hunk. He's a total stud muffin. I mean, whoa, right?"

Aoki started to fidget. "Oh no! My muscles! I'm too big and scary! I'm sorry! These muscles must be scaring you. I'll stop exercising! I promise! I'll become a wimp again! That way you can kick my ass again! Just like before!"

Yui gave him another gentle smile. "Actually, I rather like your new physique. It just surprised me, that's all. Honestly, I'm not scared of you. You aren't scary at all. That's absurd. You couldn't scare a child."

Aoki said, "Great! Wait.. did you just insult me?"

And so the rest of them laughed at his expense.

Iori then decided to have some fun. She said, "Oooh, Aoki, you hunk of a man.." She sauntered towards him, then she draped herself around him like a cat. She purred at him, "Such a man.. my my." Then she looked at Yui with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Say, can I please borrow him for the weekend? I promise to give him back when I'm done." Then she eyed him like she was going to devour him.

Aoki grew alarmed. "Yui! Don't let her take me away!"

They all laughed again. Even Dr. Niban chuckled.

Iori dropped her act and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek for real. As she did so she quietly whispered to him, "You're a good man. Take care of her." Then she stepped back.

The doctor spoke again to the group, "Very well, given the extenuating circumstances I won't be pressing charges. I will submit a deposition to the court in favor of Aoki's exoneration and the dropping of the court order. It may take a few days. In the meantime, I am sure that Miss Kiriyama is tired and needs her rest."

Yui spoke up, "Honestly, I feel fine."

"Be that as it may, you still have a lot of physical therapy ahead of you. Your arms and legs need to catch up on four years without any exercise."

"I understand." Then she looked at her love again. She became concerned for him. "But Aoki, what are you going to do now that you are out of prison?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll look for a job. But I don't think anyone would hire an ex-con with a violent criminal record."

Yui looked at Dr. Niban, "But he's innocent. Can't you have his criminal record dropped?"

"I am not an attorney so I could not say. I would recommend that Mr. Aoki hire one."

Aoki shrugged, "I can't afford it. I would need to get a job first, and that's going to be tough." That was especially true in Japan. Even those found innocent in well-publicized trials often could not find employment anywhere for years afterward due to the fear of taint of scandal for the organization.

Taichi spoke up, "Let me check into that. Don't worry."

Aoki said, "Thanks dude. And I won't. You know, all my life I've always wanted to live a carefree life, with no wants or worries. Well, living in prison was certainly that. There was no need for me to worry about what tomorrow would bring, or where my next meal was coming from. I lived my life in prison just like I always have, one day at a time, and I tried to live each day to the fullest, without worrying about the future. I see no reason to change that now."

Inaba made a smile. "Well, you certainly do have something to look forward to now."

Aoki stood up as they prepared to leave. "So, Yui, will you forgive me?"

"Silly man, I already have."

He got on his knees again. "Then will you marry me?"

His friends all groaned. Ugh, not again. This was what, his 37th proposal attempt?

The doctor grew concerned and spoke up, "Now look.. she is still in the hospital under my observation. She is in no condition to make that kind of decision right now..."

Yui interrupted the doctor, "No, it's okay. I already have my answer for him."

Aoki's eyes lit up. Taichi rolled his.

"The answer is no."

Aoki's face was crestfallen.

She quickly added, "Yoshi, what I am saying is that the real answer is: 'wait', same as before. You need to wait for me. I have my own issues I'm still working out."

"I understand.."

"But if it will make you feel better I will tell you one thing right here and now. Something I have never told you before."

"Which is?"

"That if you can please be patient with me, and help me get over my problem, then over time, possibly over a lot of time.. that someday.. maybe.. if I ever do say 'yes' to any man.."

"Yui?"

She smiled. ".. it will be to you."

"That's all I need to hear."

Dr. Niban's pager buzzed. He looked at it. "Excuse me, I have another patient I need to see. I'll give you five more minutes, then you really must leave. Goodnight." He walked out.

Inaba crouched in front of Yui and whispered, "It's really good to see you back. I'm so happy for you. Now look, I don't want to alarm you, but I need to warn you that Heartseed is back again."

"He's back?"

"Yeah."

Iori was close enough to hear and stepped forward. "Don't worry, we'll stick together."

Yui quickly understood. She nodded, "Yes, it's the only way we defeated him before."

Inaba grew resolute. "Then let's all promise each other that we will stay together, protect each other, no matter what. We are friends who are bonded together for life. Let's promise each other that right now. We will _always_ stick together. No matter what happens."

Iori looked at her former rival, "We will. Now and always."

And so they all put their hands together in a circle. Including Yui.

Their solemn vow was remade, reforged.

The nakama was back.

* * *

**A/N:**

* LJBF = Let's Just Be Friends, the so-called 'friend zone'.

 **Note:** Chapters 7 and 8 were originally intended to be published as a single chapter. The chapter grew so large that I had to break it into two, and there was a big juicy cliffhanger at the halfway point that just begged for a split :-)

-HuuskerDu

P.S. I am still writing this story without my usual method of plotting out the ending chapters completely first. If you know my other stories you know that it is something I never do normally. I take some solace in that I am not the first writer to do this. (Tolkien had no clear idea where he was going with the plot after he finished writing _The Fellowship of the Ring_ and basically winged it up to the battle of the Pelannor Fields.) Like Tolkien I do have some particular plot points that I want to hit ultimately (and I've already decided it will be a happy ending), but I still have no clear idea how I'm going to stitch it all together yet. Mainly it is because I'm still rolling out my two other big unfinished fics (AR and FAHS) that have enormously intricate plotting requirements. After I wind up one of those big fics I'll probably kick up the tempo on this story and give it a faster update schedule.

Thank you again for reading.


	9. Admissions and Apologies

**Chapter 9: Admissions and Apologies**

After saying goodnight to Yui, the foursome meekly surrendered their medical outfits to the orderlies and returned back to the hotel via a taxi. Aoki was babbling the whole time. The rest were silent.

Back at the hotel lobby, Iori announced that she was starving. So was Aoki. Inaba excused herself, having eaten earlier at the café. Taichi said he wasn't hungry either.

Taichi slid Iori some money for the rather expensive restaurant. She discretely accepted the palmed handoff without a word, then she quickly whispered some words to him. Inaba didn't see it.

Iori then grabbed Aoki's arm and escorted him (although 'dragged' might be a better description) to the hotel's restaurant. She was acting as if they were on a date, which completely flustered the poor man. Inaba had to bite her knuckle to keep herself from laughing at the sight of the large panicky man being pulled along by the pixie girl.

And so the newlyweds rode up the elevator together alone, and in silence. Some muzak played in the background.

_And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, / J_ _esus loves you more than you will know. /_ _God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson, / Heaven holds a place for those who pray / Hey hey hey..._

They continued upward without speaking a word to each other.

* * *

Inaba and Taichi were now sitting on the huge bed, back-to-back, each facing the opposite direction.

They remained in that position for several minutes in complete silence.

He finally glanced behind himself and spoke. "I like that dress you're wearing. It looks really good on you."

Inaba continued to stare off in the other direction. She said matter-of-factly, "I need to return it to Reika Nagase."

"Oh, I see."

Inaba was gazing at the evening skyline through the large windows of the honeymoon suite. The city glittered in the night as the red lights of glowing illumination dotted the spires on the rooftops. She saw the running lights of a commercial jetliner slowly crawl across the sky.

He said, "Your clothes are still in your suitcase."

She caught the implication. He would not stop her if she left.

But instead, she merely continued to look out the window at the majestic city-scape that lay before them.

After another minute passed he spoke again. "Inaba, you know, you did really good back there. You were great."

"I blew it. Stupid stethoscope."

"It was a good plan."

"I biffed it. At least you had the presence of mind to ask for the floor number before we went all _Mission Impossible_."

"Yeah, heh. But, look, we would not have gotten anywhere near Yui's hospital room without you. I'm so glad we all got to see Aoki and Yui back together. That was.. that was magical."

He touched her hand without turning around. "Thank you."

She allowed herself to smile a bit. "Eh, you weren't bad yourself, Doctor Yaegashi."

He smiled too. "We looked pretty good both dressed up as doctors, right?"

"Yeah, totally. You'd be a great doctor."

"That was fun."

"It was, heh."

More silence.

She decided to be candid with him.

"Taichi, why am I such a bitch?"

"You're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No you aren't. You're just high strung."

She sighed.

"Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"What you're doing right now."

"Doing what?"

"Patronizing me."

"I'm not. I'm telling you the truth."

"No, you're just telling me what you think I need to hear."

He frowned. "No, I am not. I am being honest with you."

He glanced behind himself. "You want to hear more?"

"Sure, Doctor Yaegashi, give it your best shot."

"Fine. For starters, you don't have the world's greatest social skills."

She shrugged, "Can't argue with that one."

"Right. And you know why you're such an asocial misfit? It's because you've been a loner your whole life. Back in school you had no real friends until Iori formed the StuCS. You're always been like that. Totally alone."

Those statements surprised Inaba. _Wait, This isn't like him. He's normally not so brutally honest with me. What's with him?_

He went on. "And I know it's not your fault. It was how you were raised. Your father had divorced your mother when you were too young to even remember her, and then he goes and re-marries some socialite who barely acknowledged that you even existed. So you were raised in isolation by a bunch of nannies. And you hardly ever saw your older brother."

"That's because Father disowned him."

"I know that. Anyway, the point is that you never had a chance to socialize with anyone, with other kids. And no, the Internet doesn't count.

_This isn't like Taichi at all. I mean, he's right of course, but what gave Mr. Wimp the courage to talk to me like that? Where did that new spine come from?_

_Ah, I see it now._

She turned her head towards him, "I take it you've been talking with Iori?"

That surprised him a bit. "Huh? Well, yes, I have. How did you know?"

She turned back away from him and looked out at the skyline again. "Of course.. that explains it."

He turned his own head towards her. "Look, Iori is our friend. And she is very worried about you. About us. She told me that she thinks she can help us."

"Huh, really? She told you that?"

"Yes. She says she can. And I believe her." He looked out straight ahead again.

"Of course you do." _Well, that explains it. I don't think she's angling for him. But who knows with her?_

"She really wants to help us. It's not a ploy or anything. She even joked about it."

That again surprised Inaba. "She joked?"

"Yeah. Iori laughed and said it would be child's play for her to steal me away if she really wanted to. She's not."

Inaba swallowed hard. She felt a combination of fear and jealousy bubble up within her. _Is Iori so confident that she can grab him away from me that easily? Would she make such an open boast like that?_

_No, that's not like her._ _More likely she genuinely wants to help us._

Then she felt that pit of fear intensify in her stomach.

_Or what if.. what if it is both? What if she really wants to help us, but unconsciously she still wants him too? What if she just doesn't realize it yet?_

Iori admitted that she had worn so many 'masks' in her life that she believed that she no longer had a core personality, that every facet of her external self was merely a façade, that there was no 'real' Iori at all.

 _I'm certain she still loves him at some level._ Then a terrible thought hit her. _What if she doesn't understand her own feelings?_ _What if.. what if she is unconsciously setting things up so she won't feel guilty when.. when.._

Taichi said, "And we do need her help. She understands us both better than anybody. Especially if Heartseed is back."

_Sigh, I'm no match for Iori and she knows it._

She decided to be honest with him. "Taichi, you said it yourself. I'm a high-strung asocial misfit. And you're right."

She looked down. "I'm just a messed up bitch. And you deserve someone a lot better than me."

"Actually, no, I don't."

That caught Inaba off guard. "What? Of course you do. You're Mr. Goody Perfect."

_Do I love him? I want him so much.. But.. that's selfish of me. And that's wrong._

"You deserve someone a lot better than me. Someone like Iori." She took a quick glance behind herself to check his reaction.

She saw that he was shaking his head vigorously. "No! The person I truly love is you. And don't you tell me that I merely love the idea, the idea of loving someone. No. Absolutely not. That's [bleep]. I am in love with _you_ , the high-strung brutally honest asocial misfit, you."

 _What?_ "Did.."

He interrupted her before she could complete the question. "And no, Iori did not tell me that."

"I don't get it."

He ignored her and went on. "And not only do I love you, I need you. You're many things, Inaba, but one thing you definitely are not is fake. You're as real as it gets. If you have an opinion about something you just blurt it out, politeness be damned. And frankly that is exactly what I need. I need that kind of honesty in my life. Someone who will always tell me the truth."

She smiled, "In other words, you like me because I have a big fat mouth."

"Yes! And I need that."

She turned and gave him an incredulous look. "C'mon, Taichi.."

"Hear me out. You see, when Iori and I were a couple back in high school she had me completely fooled. I never actually knew what she was really thinking about me, or about anything else for that matter. She acted all sweet and nice to me, and I was falling for her, and I thought she was falling for me too. But it turned out she was just wearing one of her personality masks: the sweet happy-go-lucky pixie girl. It turned out that I didn't know the real Iori at all. None of us did."

He looked down. "And she's still a mystery to me even now. That's why I know that if somehow I had ended up with her instead of you, that I would always still feel that way. I would always have some nagging doubts about who she really was, about what she was really feeling inside, about what she was really thinking. And I would always be wondering if she was just wearing one of her masks with me."

He chuckled, "But that can never happen with you, Inaba. You're plain-spoken and blunt with everybody, even rude. And bless you, I need that. If you think there is a problem you let me know flat out, no beating around the bush. And your feelings are always right there, bubbling just below the surface. If you think I'm about to go do something stupid or foolish or dangerous, you let me have it with both barrels."

He turned to glance behind himself again. "I need that. I need you."

Their eyes met. "Taichi.."

"Heh, Inaba, you know, sometimes you think you can hide your feelings from me, but you can't. I can tell. You're not difficult to read at all."

Inaba turned back away and folded her arms. The reason she turned away was to hide her face before her growing smile revealed itself to him. "Hmmpf. I think I was just insulted." _He loves me. Me!_

She allowed that smile to grow on her face as she turned back towards him. "Hey, look who's talking - you're totally transparent yourself, you doorknob. I mean, even for a guy you are so totally Captain Obvious. You couldn't lie to me if your life depended on it."

He smiled as well. "Now look who's insulting who."

More silence. She turned away again.

She pressed her back against his a bit more. "Taichi, you can't possibly forgive me for what I did to you. That was so wrong."

"It's okay.."

"No, it wasn't okay. That was supposed to be our wedding night, and I wrecked everything. And my father is still furious about the whole thing. I need to go back home and apologize to him as soon as possible. He even thinks you attacked me or something. I tried to explain.."

"What, really?"

"Yeah, I know. That's about as ridiculous as anything can get, right?" She smiled to herself again. "Heh, if you actually tried to attack me the way he thinks you did, I'd have broken you in half."

This time they both chuckled. She finally turned around and faced him squarely on the bed. "Taichi, I'm such a screw-up. I still don't fully understand why you love me. I'm so sorry.."

"You don't need to apologize. Look, it's perfectly understandable. Between the wedding and Heartseed's surprise reappearance you were totally stressed out. And don't forget that bastard is back messing with all of us again. We have to factor that in now too."

"That's still no excuse. I'm so sorry.."

"Inaba.."

"And I really do need to apologize to my father. Oh Taichi, I might have put you in terrible danger with him. Would.. would you please come with me? We can explain it together. I know he'll understand."

"Yes, of course."

"This is awful. I messed everything up. I'm so sorry."

He raised both his hands. "It's okay. It's all right. You don't need to apologize to me, but if it makes you happy, then I will accept it. But only on one condition: If you understand that I'm in love with you, Himeko Yaegashi. Not the idea, you. That I am in love with my wonderful wife, even if she happens to have no redeeming social skills whatsoever."

She tried to cover her smile but gave up. "Okay, fine. But only if you, Taichi Yaegashi, remember that I am in love with a husband who is a totally selfless freakazoid who is going to probably get himself killed if I don't ride shotgun on him each and every day."

"Heh, deal."

They moved closer. Their faces were now only inches apart.

She gazed into those deep brown eyes. Her wanting, her longing, was rapidly building. "Taichi.. I love you so much."

She leaned in closer. This had happened so many times before. She knew that at any moment she would lose her self-control and lunge at him. And then..

But no, not yet.

She spoke before things got out of hand. "Taichi, wait. I'm still really worried for Iori." She explained about how she had tracked down and dragged Iori away from her abusive drug-dealing boyfriend.

Taichi was incredulous. "Really? Why is she living with an abusive jerk like that? It doesn't make any sense. She's better than that. She's smart, young, attractive.. there's got to be a thousand guys out there better than him."

"You just don't understand women, Taichi. We're insecure that way."

"But that's stupid.."

"She needs our help too. And we're the only ones who can help her."

He sighed. "You know how complex she is. It probably won't be easy.."

"No.. it won't be."

"Still, you did the right thing dragging her out of that place. I'm proud of you. I would have done exactly the same thing. "

She rolled her eyes. He didn't see it. _Great, now you are rubbing_ _off on me._

He went on. "We'll have her stay here for the night." Then he paused and asked, ".. if you agree with me, that is."

"Yeah, I do. And Aoki too."

"Why?"

"Because Aoki doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who does well in prison, know what I mean?"

"Huh? He's out.."

"Nevermind that for now. Look, okay, then it's decided: They both will stay here for the night." She sighed to herself, _Well, so much for our wedding night then._

She began to slide off the bed to stand up to get ready for their arrival. And to her complete surprise, Taichi's arm held her back. She took the hint and crawled back towards him.

Then Taichi started to unbutton her blouse. "You know, I just realized something.."

She fidgeted. "But, Taichi, wait.. what if Iori and Aoki come back from their meal while we are, uh.."

"It's okay. Iori is running interference for us. She promised me that she would keep Aoki distracted for at least another couple hours."

"Oh.. she did?" _Ugh, how did I miss that conversation? They must have done it right under my nose! Sigh. Still, Iori, thank you._

He was grinning. "Hey, you know what?"

"Mmm?"

"I've never started it before." He continued to work the buttons down her front.

Her face got redder. _Why am I so nervous? It isn't like we've never.._ "Oh, sure you have."

"No, I haven't. Never. Not without a clear signal from you first."

She gave him a frown. "Oh c'mon. What about that time in the janitor's closet at your dorm building? You practically dragged me in."

That brought a small chuckle out of Taichi. "I almost forgot that one, heh. But, no, you started that one too. I caught your eye signal. It was unmistakable."

"I did? I don't remember.."

"You did, trust me. You gave me that _look_."

"That look?"

"Yeah, that I-want-to-rip-your-clothes-off-right-now look. The same look you gave me back in the StuCS clubroom when Heartseed removed all your inhibitions that first time. Glad you didn't do that to me in that closet, by the way. Since we were in public and all."

"Oh yeah, I remember that one now. Wow, heh, that was.."

"Pity we got busted."

"Obviously all your fault. Completely your fault. You're always too loud." Now she was just messing with him.

Taichi was incredulous. "Who, me? You're the one who always makes all the noise, not me!"

"Oh, right, I keep forgetting that, heh."

Then he surprised her.

She gave out a yelp, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"This is a special night, because for the first time _I_ am one taking the initiative. Any objections from the peanut gallery, Mrs. Yaegashi?"

She smiled underneath him. "None whatsoever, Mr. Yaegashi."

Then she batted her eyelashes in mock innocence at him. "But.. please.. I'm so delicate.. Will you be gentle with me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny. Just remember the rules."

"Hey, it was one time! You went to the hospital only that one time!"

To his credit Taichi did remember to close the drapes first.

* * *

_Three hours later_

There was a knock on the door. Taichi opened it. He was wearing a blue silk bathrobe and had a caffeine-free diet soda in his hand. The hour was getting late and he was more than a little tired. And he had to return back to work at 7:30am tomorrow.

He saw that it was Aoki.

Inaba came out of the bathroom while humming a pleasant tune. She was wearing a pink silk robe with yellow flowers embroidered on it. A towel was wrapped around her head.

Taichi quickly peered into the hallway. No one else was there. "Wait, where is she? Where is Iori?"

Aoki fidgeted. "Uh.. she left.."

Inaba ran up. "What!? She left? When?"

When Aoki saw Inaba in her bathrobe and he started to fidget even more. "Uhm, well.. She, uh, left a couple hours ago."

Inaba was getting angry with him. "You idiot! Why didn't you at least try to keep her from leaving!?"

"How? You think I could possibly stop her?"

"And a couple hours ago? Ugh, she could be anywhere by now!"

"I know. I wanted to tell you right away, but.." He was touching his index fingers together like an embarrassed child. "Just before she left she told me that you two were, uh.. you know.. I didn't want to, well, interrupt.."

Inaba ignored him. She was now both worried and angry. "Shut up, you lummox! Just tell us, do you have any idea where she went?"

"Uhm.. yeah, sure. She told me that too."

"Well, I am glad that you still have at least a couple functioning brain cells in that big fat head of yours." She roughly grabbed Aoki's shirt. "So talk, you lunkhead! Where did she go?"

Taichi spoke up and asked, "She go to her mother's?"

"No."

Inaba yelled, "Then where? Tell us!"

Aoki looked at them both helplessly.

"She said she was going where she belonged."

Inaba stopped and simply stared into space as she muttered to herself, "She didn't." Then she did a facepalm. "Wait, of course she did. That, that stupid.. idiotic.. self-destructive..

It was because Inaba knew exactly where Iori had gone.

She went back to the place she felt she deserved to be.

To Goru.


	10. A Modest Proposition

**Chapter 10: A Modest Proposition**

_Tuesday, 6:32 AM_

Inaba was awoken from a dreamless slumber by a gentle kiss on her lips. Her husband had tried not to awaken her, but she was a light sleeper. She smiled with her eyes still closed and returned the kiss. A minute later she heard the door to the suite open and close. He had told her the previous night that he would probably be working late. She went back to sleep.

Her own alarm clock was set for 8:00. At that time she intended to roust Aoki and set him out on his mission for the rest of the day.

_Tuesday, 9:07 AM_

Inaba was humming to herself as she folded down her copy of _Asahi Shimbun_. She had just finished an exquisite breakfast repast courtesy of the hotel's room service: miso soup, steamed rice, broiled fish, a tamagoyaki, and some tsukemono pickles.

Inaba's first job interview was scheduled in three hours. She had plenty of time.

She was sipping on her green tea when she heard a knock on the door. _That can't be Aoki. It's too soon._ There was no way that he could have returned from his mission yet.

She was still wearing her pink bathrobe with the yellow flowers. She opened the door.

She saw that it was Rina.

Inaba smiled at her visitor. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Hello, Rina."

The girl looked sullen. "Hello." She just stood there.

Inaba wasn't sure what to do. She decided to play hostess. "Please, come inside. If you are looking for your brother, I am afraid you missed him. He went to work bright and early."

Rina walked inside. Her shoulders were drooping a bit. She looked down and said nothing.

Inaba made a welcoming gesture with her hand. "Please, would you like something to eat? I am afraid there is not much left from breakfast, but I can order you room service if you like. Anything you want. Don't worry, my father is picking up the tab today."

Inaba moved off to the side to allow Rina to shuffle in. Inaba closed the door behind her.

Then Inaba grinned, "Are you checking up on us? Taichi told me you spotted my torn wedding dress and stopped by here on Saturday night. I assure you that I'm all right." She raised her arms and turned around, "Look, see? I'm perfectly fine. Fight over. We kissed and made up."

Rina finally looked up, staring straight ahead. "I am sure it was more than just a kiss."

That remark seemed a bit rude to Inaba, but she knew Rina could be rather possessive of her older brother. She understood. _Humm, she looks depressed. She probably thinks I took away her brother. Poor girl._ It made Inaba all the more determined to be a good hostess for Taichi's sister.

More silence. Inaba tried to make conversation. "Please, come and sit. I am afraid that I need to get dressed and leave fairly soon. Job interview. The hotel check-out time is noon. Look, I can leave the key with you, if you like. You stay here until then and explore. Have fun. There are lots of video games to play on the big screen TV. Does that sound fun?"

Then Rina turned to face Inaba directly. She had dead eyes. She finally spoke. "I am not here to play."

Inaba stopped and stared at her strange visitor. She finally recognized the facial expression. She took several steps backward. "It's you, isn't it? Dammit. Leave me alone."

Rina tilted her head. "Leave you alone? But we have never met before."

"Like hell. You're Heartseed."

Then Rina straightened up a bit and her eyes opened wider. Then she smiled.

It was a nasty smile.

A deadly smile.

"I am afraid that you are confused. I am not Heartseed."

Inaba looked at Rina's face closely. She could tell something on her expression was different. Heartseed never looked like this. As far as she remembered he never made a big smile. Granted, he sometimes gave her a small bemused smile or showed a tiny grin, particularly after Inaba said or did something that amused him, but he never sported a large toothy smile. Not like this.

Rina was showing her teeth. Just like a predator.

"What the hell do you want from me?"

Rina closed her smile. "You should relax, Himeko Yaegashi. You are perfectly safe. Unlike Heartseed, I am not here to harm you."

"You're.. you're not?"

"No. In fact, I am here to help you."

"Help me?" Somehow Inaba felt that this.. creature.. was just toying with her.

"Yes. I am here to grant you your wish."

"Which is?"

"To destroy Heartseed, of course."

That stopped Inaba in her tracks. Who was this person? Then she remembered how back in high school the StuCS had run into other creatures that were similar to Heartseed, others who were like him but who operated independently, sometimes without his knowledge.

"Wait, you are that Number Two, right?" Taichi had told her that Rina was possessed like this once before.

Rina tilted her head again. "Number Two? I suppose you can call me that. Others have called me Number Three*. I don't really care one way or the other."

"Whatever. Look, I asked you a question." Inaba was getting testy. "What the [bleep] do you want?"

"I already told you. I will help you destroy Heartseed.. if you give me something in return. A debt that I will collect later."

Inaba growled, "What, you want my soul or something? That is so cliché."

Rina's head turned quickly towards her. "Are you really offering that?"

That startled Inaba. "Huh? No, of course not!"

Rina replied, "I know that you do not believe in God."

Inaba shrugged, "Yeah, I'm an atheist. Big deal. So what?"

Rina tilted her head a third time. "Then why not offer me your soul, then? What harm is there in offering me something that you claim does not exist?"

Inaba wrapped her arms around herself. "Because.. no.. I've seen some pretty weird stuff that I can't explain. Things like Heartseed, like you."

"Well, nevermind then. It's not important. I apologize for the distraction. I want something else anyway."

"Wait, why?"

"Because I'm not particularly interested in your gracious offer."

Inaba felt offended by that remark. "Why not? Low quality or something?"

"Not particularly. Although I confess I don't understand why Heartseed seems to be so fascinated with you. I am interested in him, not in you. You're not that interesting in my opinion."

"I don't get it.."

"You said it yourself. Your offer is boring and predictable. I want something interesting. Don't you see? In some ways Heartseed and I are quite similar. We both like things that are interesting."

Inaba felt a chill run through her. She said quietly, "No. I don't see it.."

Rina gave a nasty smile and was about to respond with a devastating retort. Then she stopped and thought a moment. She frowned to herself. She looked somewhat disappointed. "Heartseed claims you are intelligent. I can see now that his faith in you might be misplaced." Rina sighed, then she waved her hand in aristocratic dismissal. "Well, no matter. Let's not get off track. There is something else I want from you if you want me to help you destroy Heartseed."

"Which is?"

"Only a small payment. As I said, I'll collect on that debt later. Now, let's get down to business. You will do anything to destroy Heartseed, true?"

Inaba clenched her fists. She admitted to herself that she would be willing to do almost anything to get back at that bastard. But there were limits. "Yes, but.."

Rina's eyes glittered. "Your answer is yes? Good, then I have a way. I will need your help to do it."

"Wait, my help? That's silly. What can I possibly do to him? Heartseed is literally untouchable." Inaba recalled how Heartseed had effortlessly defeated Yui when she tried to fight him with a martial arts move. He had easily dodged Yui's attack and had flipped her flat on the back in less than two seconds. And even if he could still be physically injured somehow, Heartseed could then simply release his mind-control of Mr. Gotou and watch the poor confused man call the police for help, and he would be quite justified in doing so.

Rina's smile grew. "You don't know him like I do. In some ways he is actually rather vulnerable. To you in particular. You just have to think laterally."

Inaba's eyes lit up like fire. "How? Tell me! Tell me how to defeat him!"

Rina flipped her hand in bored indifference. "Now now.. I'm not going to just give it away for free."

"Please.."

"Very well, I'll give you a hint. For some unfathomable reason he's fascinated with you. I really don't understand why. But it is a vulnerability that can be exploited."

"How?"

Rina smiled and said, "I will reveal it to you at the appropriate time."

Inaba harrumphed, "Bah."

"Oh my dear girl, timing is everything. Don't you know that? Everything happens at the appropriate time. Not sooner, not later, but exactly at the right moment, don't you see?"

"Whatever. At this 'right moment', this right time.. whenever it will be, you will tell me then? You promise?"

"Yes, I will."

"And I will destroy Heartseed?"

"Yes, you will. You will utterly destroy him, or at least you will hurt him quite severely. At minimum I can guarantee that he will never be able to perform any further 'tests' on you or your friends. You will all be safe."

Inaba crossed her arms again. "Good. That's all I want. But.."

"Very well, then we have an understanding." Rina bowed then turned to leave.

Inaba said, "But wait.. I'm not finished!"

Rina sighed and turned, with a look of mild annoyance. "Yes, now what?"

"I don't want to hurt anybody else. Promise me that our little.. arrangement.. does not involve Taichi or the others. That you won't hurt him or them when I do this."

Rina shrugged, "Very well, I can promise it does not involve them directly, and that neither you nor I will harm him, nor will I harm any of your friends whom Heartseed has tormented. The payment will come from you and only you. And I will not do anything to your mind, nor will I physically harm you.

Inaba knew that Heartseed was a deadly threat to all of them. He had to be stopped. And they had to be protected. And she was the only one who could do it. And wasn't that their mutual promise? The promise of the nakama? To protect each other?

"One more condition: After this is over, you won't harm any of them. Never."

Rina nodded. "Yes. All I will do is take a small payment from you, only one little thing, and then our business is finished. It's quite simple." Then her face changed. "However, if after I help you defeat Heartseed, if you should then later decide to change your mind and try to back out of our little agreement.."

Rina's eyes flashed red. Inaba stepped back as the possessed girl spoke in a low growl, ".. then I will take my unremitting revenge on you, and on them. And you will rue the day that you were ever born."

It was a real threat. Those inhuman red eyes unnerved Inaba. She was just about ready to nix the whole thing when Rina's eyes faded to brown and her face changed quickly back to a small smile. Then she soothingly added, "Just remember, this will prevent Heartseed from ever hurting you or your friends ever again."

Inaba felt that she had to be sure. "It will? You promise?"

"Yes, I do. All that I ask from you is a small favor in return, nothing more." Inaba knew that Rina would not be more specific than that.

"And you won't harm any of the others?"

"I promise I will not."

"And you won't physically harm me? You won't make me get hit by a car or fall off a bridge or something?"

"Unlike Heartseed, I will not."

"And you won't put me under any sort of mental compulsion, like plant suggestions in my head, or control my mind, or anything like that?"

"I will not." Rina then added, "However, I can't make any promises whether Taichi's feelings towards you might change after this is over.."

Inaba was relieved. Taichi was nothing if not steadfast. And she knew from last night's bedroom conversation that his love for her, for Inaba, for herself, was genuine. As real as anything gets. No, he would still love her no matter what.

".. nor your feelings towards him."

That shook her a bit. She searched her feelings. _I love him. I know I do. I always have. Okay, I admit that my love for him is selfish, and I know I need to work on that. But I have no doubts about my heart connection with him. My love for him is real, and that will never change._

Inaba said defiantly, "Hah. Then you're making a mistake. Our feelings won't ever change. And we'll survive. We always do. We always have. Heartseed has done terrible things to my friends, far worse than you have. There is an old saying, 'Anything that does not kill you makes you stronger.' Unlike Heartseed you never tried to kill us or physically harm us, not like what that rotten bastard did to Yui, or when he made Iori jump off that bridge. Nothing you say will keep us apart."

Rina remained silent. Whatever thoughts she had she kept to herself. Instead she said, "Well spoken." Then she turned and said, "I am afraid that I must leave soon. Our time is limited. You have your job interview, and I need to return this body back to its owner before her parents or anybody else notices that she is missing." Then she bowed again extravagantly, "Good morning to you, Mrs. Himeko Yaegashi." She prepared to leave.

Then she paused and turned her head slightly, "Oh.. I should not have to warn you about this, but I will say it anyway: You must never mention our little tête-à-tête to Heartseed. It is a condition of our agreement. I would also advise you to not tell Taichi nor your friends, but I will leave that decision up to you."

"Why shouldn't I tell them?"

"For their protection, of course."

"Well, how thoughtful of you. Thank you so much for your kind consideration." Inaba's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Rina tilted her head yet again. Inaba decided that it must be some kind of unconcious habit or tic that manifested itself whenever Number Two was thinking. She was right, for Number Two was re-evaluating her low opinion of Inaba. Rina returned and approached her closely, with her brown eyes searching deep into her own, just inches away. "Hmm.. I wonder.."

Rina then surreptitiously scanned Inaba's mind. What she found surprised her. "Ah. Hmm.. yes.. I see it now. Oh my." The appraisal made Inaba shiver.

She raised her hand to touch Inaba's cheek. "So that is why Heartseed is so interested in you. I do see it now. Of course. How did I miss this?"

Inaba slapped away her hand. "Don't touch me!"

Rina's eyes again flashed red in anger. "How _dare_ you strike me!" Inaba stepped back in abject fear. Then Rina quietly caught herself and she smiled again. "My apologies. Hmm. Yes, please forgive me." She made a small perfunctory bow.

Inaba spit back, "Go to hell."

Rina chuckled, "Now you're throwing the same epithets at me that you threw at him. I am flattered. Next you will tell me to go [bleep] myself. Yes, I am flattered that you think I am worthy of your kind words."

She took a step towards Inaba, who again stepped back. "Honestly, I am really starting to like you, Inaba. In fact, you are becoming interesting to me. That is a high compliment coming from someone like me. And so as a reward I will grant you a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes. Think of it as a gift. I will reveal to you a secret. Would you like to hear it?"

"As if I can stop you from telling me.."

Rina pouted. "Such insolence. It warms the cockles of my heart. Yes, I have decided that I will reveal it to you."

"Which is?"

"I think that Heartseed might secretly be in love with you."

Inaba felt truly disgusted. "Oh, that's just sick!"

Rina gave her a seductive smile. "Well, I think I do see why now. And you are so passionate with Taichi in bed.." Rina began to think about the intensity of Inaba's lovemaking with her husband as she replayed those scenes in her own mind. "My, my, I think I'm getting the vapors." She waved her hand in front of her face, as if she was fanning herself to dissipate the heat that she felt from that memory.

"Get out!"

"Oh yes.. I am definitely feeling warm.."

"Out! Out! I never want to see you again!"

Rina sighed and turned to leave. Then she turned back around. She was about to say one final remark, one clever and pointed retort with multiple meanings that Inaba would likely not pick up on until it was too late. But she held back. After all, it was best not to be too clever. Besides, she knew she had already won. Instead she merely said, "Au revoir." She whirled around and walked out briskly, with her hips swaying suggestively like a runway model showing off at a fashion show.

The door slammed shut behind Rina. From Inaba's angle it was clear that it was not touched by anybody. It made Inaba jump.

* * *

In the office building across the street from the hotel, Bakou lowered the 35mm digital SLR. He was a large man whose face always had a dead expression. From his viewing angle he did not see the door slam. He could tell that the action at the hotel was finished for the time being. So he quietly unscrewed the large telephoto lens and put it back in its foam-padded case. He then made some handwritten notes on his smartphone.

What Bakou was doing was unethical, but it was legal (mostly).

He drank his tea, then he idly took a big bite out of an egg-salad sandwich. As he continued to chew his food he raised the 7x50 binoculars to his face and continued to observe the honeymoon suite.

Then he pressed the 'stop' button on his smartphone's digital tape recorder app. That was blatanly illegal. His smartphone's app was connected by a triple-encrypted IPsec-NAT-T (IKEv2) Virtual Private Network connection that tied directly into the hotel's VOIP telephony server. Being the owner of the hotel, it was a simple matter for Inaba's wealthy father to arrange for the wiretap.

The latter was called 'level black' surveillance. It was ordered by Inaba's father on Saturday after the wedding disaster. Bakou had started the illegal wiretapping last night. It would have started earlier, but the IT administrator for the hotel chain had refused to allow Bakou to install the software patch into the hotel's VOIP phone system. The administrator had even foolishly threatened to call the police about it. It took a day for Bakou to bribe a female administrative employee that worked under the IT administrator to plant a hidden camera inside the maid's staff dressing room and then collect the photos and plant them on the IT administrator's office computer and backdate them. It took a second day for the camera to be 'discovered' by the same female administrator.**

The fact that she was quickly promoted as the new manager of the hotel chain's IT department, with a hefty raise over the previous IT admin's salary, and with an unbreakable ten year service contract - one that happened to match the statute of limitations expiration date for illegal wiretapping - was purely a coincidence.

And so the secret voice recordings did not start until late last night. Bakou had carefully saved the conversation between Inaba and Taichi regarding their reconciliation. Inaba's father would very much want to hear that.

Then Taichi had closed the curtains.

Bakou was a grown man with three children, but what he had heard next made his ears turn red.

He had then stopped the audio recording and pulled out his ear buds. He would later trim out the section from the .MP3 file that he had inadvertently recorded.

And if Taichi had failed to close those curtains, Bakou would have stopped taking photographs too.

After all, Bakou might be an illegal operative, but he was still a gentleman.

* * *

Inaba sighed and sat on the bed by herself. She dropped her head into her hands. She began to think about what had just happened. She pulled out her cellphone. She was tempted to call or text Taichi about it.

Then she stopped herself. _This will only just upset him.. it will make him fret. There's nothing he can do about it, anyway. Between my stupid wedding antics, our big fight, and my father's anger, I already hurt him far too much. I need to protect him. I need to protect all of them._

Was this the right thing to do? She thought some more, then she stood up. She was resolute.

_If this will finally get rid of Heartseed, once and for all..._

Then some doubts crept in to her mind. Rina was obviously hiding something about the nature of the 'small payment' that she wanted. Still, if this would finally end Heartseed's attacks against those she loved, should knew that she would gladly pay the price to make that happen.

Inaba searched her motives. Why was she doing this? We she doing it just for herself? No, she felt that her motives were anything but selfish. It was because only she herself would pay the price, the cost, and no one else. To protect those she loved.

After all, Taichi had done the same thing once. He had kept the existence of Number Two secret himself that first time, during the age reversals. And he himself had suffered for it. It was because he didn't want those he loved to get hurt.

And if her little arrangement with Rina did not work out? Or if it affected her relationship with him somehow? What then?

Then she would confess to him everything. _He'll understand. He always does._

* * *

Inaba looked at her watch and realized that she needed to get going if she wanted to get to her job interview on time. She got up and went to the bathroom to get ready.

First, she applied a light foundation on her face, just enough to create an even skin tone. Then she combed her unruly hair and set it with hairspray. She put on a matte lipstick that looked good with her somewhat pale complexion. She smacked her lips. She hated the taste.

She had her 'business killer' attire already picked out: a dark navy suitcoat over a white blouse with a wide Peter Pan collar that was paired with a just-below-the-knee dark skirt and nylons. The ensemble was tailor made and form-fitted to her figure, but it was not clinging. She knew exactly how to achieve the look she wanted. She had watched enough of her father's high-powered business meetings to know how to properly dress and comport herself in the world of business finance.

The interview was only for a mid-level financial analyst job. She didn't want to aim too high. Partly it was because she was coming right out of college with no real job experience. Partly it was because she wanted to observe, first-hand, the day-to-day operations of an actual working business from the inside, from a mid-level executive's point of view, one that she knew she would never see in her own father's empire.

She knew that no matter what position she took within her father's companies that all the other employees would probably dance attendance on her like a stupid princess no matter what lowly job title she held. No, she would never learn anything that way. It was a big reason why she felt that her first position had to be with a business firm that had no connection to her fathers' _keiretsu_. The other reason was that she wanted to pre-emptively quench any talk about nepotism by proving that she was a capable businesswoman who could succeed on her own.

She had butterflies in her stomach. She checked herself. Was she feeling nervous about the interview? No. The stakes were not that high. If she didn't get the job she could simply interview again elsewhere. In fact, her going on multiple interviews was probably a good idea anyway, especially when she knew that some future day she would be sitting on the opposite side of the management desk while interviewing nervous job candidates. Some of the mangers that she would meet would doubtless be quite bad at it, especially if they glossed over such an obviously qualified candidate as herself. She would learn to observe those mistakes and not repeat them.

Still, her stomach was upset. It was probably because she ate too much food at breakfast. She took an antacid tablet.

Now, earlier she had indeed been genuinely nervous regarding the upcoming job interview. But it was for a very different reason. It had happened when she had prepared a big speech to give to her father about why she felt that she needed to get a job outside of her father's _keiretsu,_ to prove herself and her self-worth. To his credit, her father quickly raised his hand and stopped her when she tried to make her case. He simply gave her his blessing, and he said that he was proud of her.

_Father, thank you for your understanding. I love you so._

She intended to meet with her father again very soon, as soon as she could pry Taichi away from work. Maybe tomorrow perhaps. She wanted her husband standing right beside her when she formally bowed and apologized to her father for her disgraceful actions on her wedding day. Then she would turn and immediately bow and apologize to her husband as well. She knew that she needed to formally apologize to both of them at the same time, and that both of them needed to see her do it.

She felt that it was the only way to heal the rift that she knew was growing in her father's heart against her new husband. She was confident that in such a situation he would forgive his daughter out of his love for her. And that way, she believed, she could resolve her father's suspicions about Taichi's motives and his misapprehension about the quality of Taichi's character.

Then she blinked her eyes. How long had she been staring into the mirror like this? She looked at her watch. Almost an hour had passed since Rina left. She cursed under her breath. She would have to hurry now to make it to the job interview in time.

* * *

_Tuesday, 10:45 AM, JRCS Regional Headquarters_

"Yaegashi, you have missionary syndrome."

"Excuse me, sir?"

Taichi's boss*** moved his motorized wheelchair closer.

"You think you can save the world. You can't. The field is vast but the workers are few. We have to be discerning with the use of our resources."

Taichi looked down. "I know. Contributions from our benefactors are down this year.."

Kurosawa interrupted him. "I don't mean financial. I mean human." He put his hand on Taichi's shoulder. "In our line of work people like you are a precious resource. I don't want to see you crash and burn. I've seen it before in young bright eager people like yourself. That's why I selected you to work directly with me."

The older man's eyes twinkled. His name was Akira Kurosawa (no relation to the film director). He had laugh lines around his eyes and a bald head that made it difficult to determine his age. On his sportcoat were two small brass cufflinks in the shape of two intersecting arcs of half-ellipses.

Taichi was now employed as a relief worker at the Japanese Red Cross Society, the _Nippon Sekijujisha_. His job didn't pay well, but he didn't mind. Indeed, he would have worked for nothing as a full time volunteer if he could. It was his passion and he loved doing it.

The JRCS had a long and distinguished history in Japan. It was supported by Japan's Imperial Family, going all the way back to the organization's foundation in 1887. By tradition, the honorary president of the JRCS is the Empress of Japan. The Crown Prince and Princess were honorary vice-presidents.

The JRCS had collected funds for the relief of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. It had also helped to ensure that prisoners of war were treated humanely, such as the Russian prisoners captured during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) and in World War I. The Tojo regime had suppressed the JRCS during WWII, but after the war it was reincorporated by US advisers and was operating ever since, working in close coordination with the American Red Cross and other international relief agencies. Today the JRCS is best known for its hospitals (92 in Japan) and its disaster relief work.

Taichi's superior was a kindly gentleman with mixed ancestry. Kurosawa's father was an American soldier in World War II, and he had never met him. His mother didn't even know his full name. Being half gaijin, Kurosawa often suffered the sometimes vicious discrimination and racism that was endemic to the country of his birth. His mother's death in a tragic bus accident had left him paralyzed since he was twelve. His relatives had refused to take him in. Some even spit upon him. So instead he grew up in an orphanage sponsored in part by the JRCS.

Eventually, through sheer determination, he worked his way through college on a hardship scholarship. Despite numerous obstacles both inside and out of college, he had managed to graduate with honors. Eventually he found his way into the JRCS. Partly it was out of gratitude for the organization that had saved him, and partly it was because he fervently believed in its mission. Over the decades he slowly rose up through the ranks. He was now a high-level manager for the local branch of the organization.

Nominally, Taichi's status as a newly hired straight-out-of-college lowly relief worker should not have had him reporting directly to someone like Kurosawa. But the wheelchair-bound man had established a mentoring program a few years back, and he had spotted something special in Taichi, and so he decided to become his mentor himself. He did this even though Taichi's current job description and modest pay grade would have customarily precluded it otherwise.

Kurosawa smiled, "Don't worry. I'll keep you pointed in the right direction. Just remember that the field is endless."

Indeed. Kurosawa's office was absolutely covered with maps and diagrams from the _higashi nihon daishinsai_. Even now, eight months after the monster tsunami had hit the shores off of Tohoku, some of the over one hundred-thousand destroyed buildings had still not yet been fully cleared of rubble. Human remains were still being found occasionally.

Kurosawa's section tended to focus on uniting lost children with their parents and in giving temporary housing for orphans before placing them with relatives. They also worked closely with several orphanages. The fact that his work reflected something of his own personal childhood experience was not regarded as a coincidence.

Of course during the immediate aftermath of any major national disaster it was all hands on deck, and everyone dove in with helmets and flashlights for emergency rescue and to give first-aid, medical treatment, temporary housing, blankets and food, and comfort to the survivors. And to gather the dead. Kurosawa's co-managers always dove in alongside the lower-level relief workers during any major earthquake. Given his physical condition he tended to fall into the role of emergency manager, and he had distinguished himself admirably in that role in the immediate aftermath of the great tsunami. His astute management skills were credited for saving many lives during the rescue operation, and the senior managers at the other facilities had learned to contact him for advice on planning for dealing with future large-scale disasters.

Kurosawa looked up from the maps. "Say, I'm going out to meet a colleague shortly. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

* * *

_Tuesday, 11:07 AM, JRCS Regional Headquarters_

Taichi was sitting in his tiny cubicle. He pulled out the JRCS handbook and continued to study it.

Then his cellphone buzzed. From the caller ID he saw that it was Aoki's prepaid cell. He quietly answered it.

Aoki spoke quickly, "Dude, I know I'm not supposed to call you at your new job.."

"It's okay. What is it?"

"I thought you needed to know right way. Inaba sent me out to find Iori."

Taichi replied quietly, "You found her?"

"Well, kind of.."

Taichi froze. "What do you mean 'kind of'..?"

"Dude, I'm so sorry. But you needed to know. I'm calling Inaba next. I'm not allowed to call Yui. You two will have to tell her the bad news."

Taichi gripped his cell tightly. "What.. what happened..?"

Aoki said, "I'm really sorry. She's in the hospital. Trauma ward."

"Have you seen her? What is her condition?"

"No idea. I can't get near her. There's a police guard outside and she's handcuffed to the bed."

Taichi looked down. He banged his fist in frustration on the small desk. The pencil jar tipped over. His co-workers glanced up at him.

_Argh! I should have done something! I should have dragged her upstairs to the suite. I should have made Aoki sit on her ass if necessary to keep her there. But no.. instead of saving her, I simply let her walk out and go back to that bastard. Just so I could make amends with my wife and get laid.. Oh my god.._

He tried to get a grip on himself. He whispered with a hoarse rasp, "Aoki, did you remember the name of the hospital she is at?"

"Uhm.. It's not the hospital that Yui was in. It was another big one.. one of the hospitals run by the Japanese Red Cross, I think."

"Which one!?" The JRCS operated 92 hospitals nationwide.

"Ugh.. uhm.. I don't remember.."

Taichi guessed it was probably the nearest one that had a trauma center.

And that meant..

The Tramua Center was 4 floors above his cubical farm.

He took off running to the stairwell as fast as he could.

* * *

**A/N:**

The chapter's title is a pun on Jonathan Swift's famous 1729 satirical essay, _A Modest Proposal for Preventing Children of Poor People From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick_. It was basically a plan to sell poor children as food. Written anonymously, Swift set up a ridiculous scheme complete with elaborate cooking recipes, written in a pompous supercilious style that was common in fashionable scholarly articles of the period that were being circulated by the educated upper class to deal with the 'problem of the poor'. Today, _A Modest Proposal_ is still considered to be one of the best examples of sustained irony in the English language.

* For the record, Rina is actually Number Three (not Number Two). Number Two was an entity that was subordinate to Heartseed, while Heartseed actively fears Number Three.

** I saw something like this actually happen to the husband of a good friend of mine. (Not at a hotel.) During my forensic analysis of the HDD I had checked the NTFS MFT to dig up the raw 64-bit file time-stamps (which go down to 100 nanosecond resolution), and I was able to prove that the photos were definitely planted. Very few people know that Microsoft Windows has not three file timestamps but actually four, with the fourth one more-or-less completely undocumented.

The attorney was so impressed with me that he had wanted to hire me right on the spot as a permanent expert witness. He thought I would come off well with a jury, saying I was good at explaining technical concepts to laypersons. (I had frequently done presentations for congressional visitors and Pentagon VIPs at the national supercomputer center at funding time - a high stakes venue that was much more stressful than talking to a jury.) I declined the offer because, frankly, I didn't want to earn a living by giving forensic testimony to juries regarding computer images of children. The attorney offered me a lot of money to do it. He explained how hard it was for him to recruit experts in this sordid field. I could see why, and I kinda wondered why he did it himself. Then I noticed his Rolex and saw his Beemer in the lot.

Trust me on this: Never put bad stuff on your PC. Google for 'ILook forensics'. The authorities _will_ find it, even if you encrypt it, delete it, or even reformat the disk. The forensics tools today are just too good. So don't do it. (The flip side is that if you do get framed by somebody, or get your PC used as a repeater by a Russian bot, it is pretty easy nowadays to prove your innocence.)

*** In my mind, Kurosawa looks and acts a lot like Lucas Garner in Larry Niven's Gil "The Arm" Hamilton stories. Like Garner, he is a high-ranking official in a large public service organization, is wheelchair bound, and is the protagonist's mentor.


	11. A Small Surprise

**Chapter 11: A Small Surprise**

_Tuesday, 11:09 AM, JRCS Regional Headquarters_

After climbing the four flights of stairs, Taichi pushed open the fire door and stumbled into the side hallway of the Trauma Center. No one was nearby. He trotted to the corner and peered down the long main hallway. At the far end of the hall he spied a security guard standing in front of one of the private suites.

Taichi was about to rush up to the guard, but then he caught himself. He thought a moment. _What would Inaba do in a situation like this?_ He thought further, then he smiled inwardly and nodded to himself.

_First step: Calm down._ He re-entered the stairwell and hid for a minute until his rapid breathing slowed. As he did so he slicked his hair back and composed his facial features. He then mentally rehearsed his lines.

After another minute he re-entered the side hall again. Nobody saw him. Then he took a deep breath and marched around the corner into the main hall. He walked with purpose past the nursing station. The nurse on duty did not look up. He proceeded to walk right up to the guard, who started to look him over.

He said, "Hello. I am here to see the suspect. I'm on staff here."

The guard saw that Taichi's JRCS employee badge was hanging from a blue lanyard around his neck.

Blue, not red. The guard knew that meant he was not on the medical staff. Hmm.

The guard raised an eyebrow. He slowly lifted up Taichi's official JRCS employee badge and looked at it carefully. He verified that the photograph did indeed match its owner. "Who's your boss?"

Taichi replied, "My superior is Akira Kurosawa-sensei."

The guard nodded. "Oh, you are one of Kurosawa's people. I see. Are you the chaplain?"

Taichi thought quickly. He didn't want to lie. "Well, I was just hired you see. They are still working on my paperwork." Both statements were technically true.

"Oh, I guess it's all right then."

"Thank you, sir."

The guard unlocked the door and opened it. Then he said, "Hey.."

Uh-oh. Taichi stopped and turned, trying to hide his nervousness. "Yes?"

"Try to talk some sense into that girl, will ya?"

Taichi gave a knowing smile. "Don't worry, sir, I will."

The guard then added, "I don't think it will help, though..."

Taichi asked, "Uh, why not?"

The guard then glanced furtively up and down the hallway before he leaned forward and said quietly, "Because I know that girl's type. Look, I'm not a cop - I'm just a private security guard - but I've been doing this gig for long enough that I know their kind. They're all addicts, hookers, drug mules, or worse. Mark my words, that poor girl will be dead before she reaches 25."

Taichi sighed, "Well, I can only try to reach her."

The guard nodded and approved. "You are one of Kurosawa's folks, all right. Good man. Go on in." After Taichi entered the room, the guard shut the door behind him and remained outside.

Taichi waited until the door was fully latched behind him. Then he turned and faced the hospital patient. It was indeed Iori. He saw that her left arm was heavily bandaged and immobile. Her right wrist was handcuffed to the rail of the hospital bed. A standard BP/heartrate monitor clip was clamped on one of her fingers. She was awake and sitting up. She had dark circles around the eyes and looked tired. Thankfully she did not appear to be in any sort of serious physical distress.

When Iori saw her new visitor she was startled. She was a bit confused for a moment, then she spotted Taichi's badge. She grinned at him with a bemused expression, "Wow, you really are becoming like Dereban. Now she's got you doing the whole _Mission Impossible_ thing all by yourself."

Taichi put his finger to his lips. _Sssh._ He pressed his ear against the door and listened.

Iori read his mind. "Don't worry. The guard can't hear us."

Taichi ignored her and continued to listen until he was satisfied that their conversation would not be overheard. He nodded to himself, then he finally turned around to face the hospital patient.

He paused. He wasn't sure what to say to her. Part of him wanted to yell at her and demand that to know what the hell she was doing getting arrested with a drug dealer. A second part of him wanted to simply rescue her and whisk her away from the clutches of her captors. And a third part of him wanted to understand what kind of terrible personal demons she must be fighting to have brought her down to this low state.

Iori watched his mental deliberations carefully. Then she said slowly, "You are supposed to say, 'Iori, how are you doing?'"

Taichi blinked his eyes. "Oh, uh.. Iori, how are you doing..?"

Iori gave Taichi a wan smile. "I'm fine." She made a motion with her head towards her bandaged left arm. "The bullet went through-and-through. Clean. No major blood vessels or nerves were hit."

"Good.. I'm glad."

"It's good to see you too, Taichi."

"Uh, yeah.." There was a pause as Taichi was still trying to process his thoughts.

Iori looked at him conspiratorially, "Hey, we're alone together. All alone. Just you and me. This is the first time we've totally been alone like this in, what, three years?"

"Uh, yeah, I think.."

"We should celebrate. Want to go out for a drink, just you and me?" Then she pulled up her right wrist until the chain went taut and clinked. "Oh wait, I'm kind of tied up right now."

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Your jokes are still as awful as ever."

She smiled again. "I just do that to break the ice."

Another pause. She could see that Taichi was still trying figure out what to say next. He still hadn't decided which of the three approaches he wanted to take.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence Iori decided to make the decision for him. "Look, Taichi, let me help you out here, okay? I will carry on both sides of the conversation. You just sit back and watch. That sound good?"

"Uh.."

Iori sighed, "Thought so. Here goes."

She then started her performance. She swung her head to the left and right*:

T: Iori, what the hell is wrong with you?

I: My arm got hurt so they took me to the hospital.

T: That's not what I mean. Why is there a guard standing outside your hospital room?

I: Uhm, to protect me from a former boyfriend who was trying to sneak into my hospital room to get alone with me without his wife knowing, maybe?

T: No, dammit! I mean, why are you handcuffed to the bed?

Iori continued her conversation with herself. She instantly switched roles back and forth with each turn of her head. Taichi was fascinated with her performance. It was an amazing act. Each time she turned her head, her facial expression would completely change: On the left side, her face was that of a person who was wide-eyed and innocent, who was filled with concern and worry, and who was starting to get angry with person he was talking to. On the right side, her face was that of a person who was bemused and sardonic.

I: I guess they're really strict around here about paying the bill before you get discharged.

T: Stop fooling around! Tell me, what happened to Goru?

She looked down.

I: He's dead.

T: Dead?

I: He was an idiot. Suicide by cop. A complete dumb-*ss.

T: What, he shot at the police?

I: No, of course not. He simply thought someone else was trying to rob him. He didn't know it was a police raid. When he heard the door crash open he pulled out his gun. Idiot.

T: So they shot him.

I: He was dead before he hit the floor.

T: That's awful.

I: He didn't even have a real gun. Do you know how hard it is to get a real gun in Japan? It was all a bluff to keep from getting robbed. I told him a hundred times that fake gun was soooo stupid, and that if there was ever a raid that stupid toy would get himself killed. And it did. _Damu baka._

T: But why did the cops shoot at you too?

I: They didn't. I dived under the table as soon as I heard the door get smashed in. During the shooting a random ricochet bounced off a concrete stud on the wall behind me. The bullet hit my arm, nothing vital. I was lucky.

T: Like hell! What the [bleep] were you doing getting involved with a scumbag like Goru anyway?

Taichi finally raised his hand. "Iori, please stop.." She did.

Then he sighed. "All right, fine, I admit I'm a little angry with you right now.."

_Good, mission accomplished. He won't blow up at me now._

".. and thank you coming clean with me about what happened." He pulled up a chair and sat close to her.

She smiled back at him. "Just trying to save us time. I don't know how many more seconds we have alone together before they figure out whatever scam you used to get in here. So who do they think you are, anyway?"

He smiled back, "Chaplain."

Iori was impressed. "Chaplain? Really? Wow, good choice. We might have more time that way. And that explains the privacy. Nice job, Taichi."

Taichi enjoyed receiving such high praise from the master thespian. "Heh, thanks. But still, you haven't answered my question that you posed so skillfully while pretending to be me: Why were you living with that scumbag?"

She thought a moment. "Hmm."

She thought some more. "I am afraid I am about to make a bit of a speech. Are you ready?"

He leaned forward, his eyes earnest. "Sure."

"Well, here it goes. First let's start at the beginning. You see, it all began back after my father died and my mom married her second husband. He was a nasty drunk. Anything could set him off. He'd smack my mom on any pretext. I just wanted him to stop hitting my mom.

"I was only 6. I discovered that when he was drunk I could entertain him. I'd do little play-acts with my dolls, or do silly things with my playhouse, basically little performances to keep him distracted. And it seemed to work.

"Then one day mom knocked over a teacup in the kitchen and it broke with a loud crash. I knew, I just knew, it would set him off. He would beat her terribly for it. He came stomping into the kitchen in his boxers demanding to know what had happened.

"So I moved quickly in front of mom and I said that I broke it, and that I was very sorry and would clean it up. He really wanted to hit somebody that day, but I guess even he couldn't bring himself to smack a 6-year old girl. So he just swore loudly and walked out."

"And so you protected your mom."

"Yeah. Later I learned to fetch his newspaper, bring his cigarette packs, and fetch his booze so that he'd stay in his laz-y-boy recliner chair until he passed out. As long as he was sitting all fat and happy in that big stuffed chair he couldn't smack my mom, you see? He'd grin at me and call me his perfect little helpmate, then he'd turn and yell at mom, 'Why can't you be more like her, you worthless b*tch?'

"Then one day he was gone. Poof. Mom claimed that he died. She was lying of course. You remember what happened years later. Anyway, shortly after he was gone she brought in the next man. Then later the next, and then the next."

Tachi said, "And so the pattern was set: You grew up learning to wear masks to protect your mom, and yourself. And it wasn't until you reached high school, during Heartseed's emotional transference phenomenon, that your secret got exposed to the rest of us: that you were always hiding behind a personality mask when dealing with us, or with your family, or with anyone for that matter. It was a lifelong psychological shield that you had created for yourself. But you had been doing it for so long that you feared that you had no real core personality anymore, that behind those masks was basically, well, nothing."

"Wow, that's a good summary, Taichi. Let me applaud. Oh wait, my arm is shot, nevermind."

Taichi crossed his own arms. "Iori, stop fooling around. We might not have much time left. Just tell me what's really going on with you. What's going on right now, I mean. This little history lesson doesn't explain why today you are shacking up with losers like Goru."

"Actually, it does."

"Huh? How?"

"Tell me, Taichi, in your opinion do you think that in high school I was a popular girl?"

"Well of course. You were really popular with the other girls. You were the center of your social circle."

"And why was that, exactly, hmm?"

"Because you were so outgoing and fun to be with. You were so nice, so energetic and happy, and.. oh.. I get it.."

"Yeah. Look, Taichi, let me level with you. The real Iori isn't a nice individual. She's a cynical, sarcastic, dour, and unpleasant person. She's not nice to be around. Certainly not with a nice guy like you. The real Iori doesn't have any friends. She never did."

"Oh, c'mon.."

"You know that for years I believed that I had no center, no 'self', nothing, and that the real me was an empty shell, a fraud. It was all part of my feelings of worthlessness. Taichi, that kind of.. damage.. is permanent. And you can't fix it. I know you want to, but you can't. It started me on my train wreck of a life. And all the stupid choices that I made that followed. Those choices were my own. I make no excuses for them."

"Iori, you're wrong about one thing: you still have friends. Real ones. We're back together again, the five of us. You saw the miracle. Yui came back. You saw it yourself."

"Taichi, miracles don't happen for people like me. For Yui maybe, and Aoki, sure. Even for you and Dereban. But not for me."

"And why not? Why can't a miracle happen for you too?"

Iori fell silent. Finally she said quietly, "Because they just don't."

More silence.

Taichi's heart was breaking. His rescue instincts went into overdrive. He had to save Iori. He just had to. Had to. He felt that in every fiber of his being. She had to be saved. But how?

What was it? What was Iori's actual problem? Her real problem? What was that one, single, crucial thing that was really missing in her life? It had to be something basic. Taichi felt it instinctively.

What was it? He thought about everything Iori had just said. It had to be something simple, so simple that it could be completely overlooked, even by someone as perceptive and observant as Iori.

Then suddenly he knew. His eyes lit up.

He knew.

It was so obvious.

All she needed was someone to love her.

To really love her.

Her. The real Iori.

Of course.

That was the whole problem.

Iori felt that she had never been loved by anyone in her entire life. Not even as a child. Not by her mother, not by anyone.

People loved her personality masks, not her. Her mother loved Iori's mask as the perfect obedient daughter. Back in high school, Taichi loved Iori's mask as his charming pixie girlfriend. Her friends in her social circle loved Iori's mask as the outgoing and fun leader of her clique.

But not her.

And now Iori believed it was too late.

Even in the StuCS, in that tightly knit nakama of forged bonds of friendship that were stronger than steel, of which she was its very center, its heart, its leader, she was still the outsider. Taichi loved Inaba and Inaba loved Taichi. Aoki loved Yui and Yui loved Aoki. She was the fifth wheel. Unloved.

Alone.

The real Iori was never loved.

Ever.

By anyone.

Taichi understood. He understood it in a way that few men could, for Taichi's capacity for love was deeper than even he himself knew, as he would discover later.

He said it so softly that Iori could barely hear it.

He said the words that Iori had never heard before. Never in her entire life.

And this is what he said: "Iori, I love you. The real you."

And Iori saw the utter conviction and sincerity in that man's face. And the master thespian knew that Taichi was as sincere and honest in his declaration as anyone could be.

She saw it. He loved her. The real her.

Iori completely broke down. She began to sob bitterly.

Taichi tried to hold her hand. She yanked it away almost violently. He saw a blind ferocity in her face. "STOP IT! STOP DOING THAT!"

He remained unperturbed, his eyes kind and caring, "Iori.."

"DON'T SAY THAT! GO AWAY! I HATE YOU!"

Taichi was not shocked by her violent response. Indeed, he had more-or-less expected it. It was because Taichi had seen it with Inaba. Had he seen several violent outbursts from Inaba just like this one. It had happened many times before. Usually it was in reaction to exactly those same three words that he had just spoken to Iori.

Iori was undergoing an emotional breakdown just like Inaba typically did during one of her many fight-cycles with Taichi. Those one-sided fights had happened so many times that Taichi had gotten complacent about it, which of course had driven Inaba to even greater heights of anger and fury.

Iori was sobbing and inconsolable. Then the guard opened the door and poked his head in. "Everything okay in here?"

Taichi quickly turned around in his chair and gave the guard a reassuring smile. "I think we are making progress. Can you give us a few more minutes, please?"

The guard took one look at Iori and understood perfectly. "Don't worry. I'll keep everyone out until you're finished."

Taichi nodded thanks. Just before he closed the door the guard gave him a quick thumbs-up. The door was closed and locked again.

By now Iori had regained enough composure to form coherent sentences. She was furious with him. "You creep, you think you can say those words and touch my heart like that? Just by saying those words?"

"Iori.."

"You are a damn fine actor, mister. Better than me even."

"I'm not acting."

"You're not? Then tell me, Taichi, now what? What happens next, huh? You going to toss Inaban over a bridge and throw yourself at me? Or did you forget that three days ago you got that nice shiny golden ring on your finger?"

Taichi was patient. He had learned such patience from dealing for years with Inaba's basic insecurity. _Wow, Inaba and Iori are so similar. I wish I had figured this out earlier._

"Iori, I see it now."

"You see what?"

"Deep inside you and Inaba are much the same. The only difference is that Inaba feels insecure whereas you feel unworthy and fake. But those feelings drive both of you in much the same way."

"Wait, are you serious? You are actually comparing me to Inaban?"

"Well, yeah, I am."

"But Inaban is a mess!"

Taichi smiled.

Iori stared at him for a moment, then she did a facepalm. "Touché, you bastard."

Having been bested by her master, she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "God, Taichi, when did you suddenly grow a brain.."

He smiled again. "I'll take that as a complement."

She muttered to herself, "Inaban has no idea how lucky she is.."

He laughed, "Another complement? Careful or you'll give me a swelled head."

Iori sighed. "Okay, you win. I can't believe this, but you win. You actually touched my heart. You're like a goddamn miracle worker or something."

"Oh, what was that you just said? A miracle? See, even you can get one."

She sniffled, "God, I hate you.. or I love you.. or.." She plopped her head down on the pillow in exasperation. She looked up at the ceiling. "Honestly, I don't know what I feel anymore.."

"Iori, let me make an observation."

She sighed, "Go ahead, Doctor Yaegashi."

"Ok, look. You see, I believe that when you have been cut off from directly experiencing real love for as long as you have, and by that I mean in the deep sense of _ai_ , that is, selfless or self-sacrificing love, that what happens is you have no real sense of judgement, no real guide, for when it actually happens to you."

"So.. you're saying I have no frame of reference for what real love is like.."

"Exactly! Basically here is what I think has happened: Throughout your whole life you have never experienced any kind of sustained deep selfless love. And without that frame of reference you don't know what it actually is. And so you made due with inferior substitutes. That's why so many girls who come from broken homes, without fathers I mean, often confuse sex with love. Without a father figure, a young girl has no real role-model for receiving and experiencing _ai_ , that is, selfless love, in a non-sexual way. And that is why those girls allow men to take advantage of them so much. It's a poor substitute for _ai_ , but it is the only kind of love that these girls have any experience with."

Iori remained silent. She was thinking about all of the men that she had slept with. And what happened after.

Taichi went on. "You blew up at me because, for probably the first time in your life, a man showed _ai_ to you. And you literally didn't know how to react to that. It was because you conflated with _ai_ with _koi_. You thought I said that I wanted to leave Inaba for you. And if I had actually wanted to dump my wife like that, you knew I wouldn't be worthy of your love for doing such a rotten thing. So you exploded at me in anger. Inaba has done exactly the same thing. She is basically insecure inside. She thinks she doesn't deserve my love. And when I tell her I do love her, she conflates with _ai_ with _koi_ just like you did, and so she thinks that I'm merely patronizing her or being a spineless wuss, and then she gets all riled up just like you did."

Iori turned and looked at him. Another tear started. "Okay.. yeah.. I think I'm getting it.."

Taichi lightly touched her head. "Iori, you are so perceptive, so observant. You can practically read other people's thoughts as they think them, all while adjusting your personality to match. But for all your marvellous gifts of observation you missed something that was so clear and obvious about your own self. But now that you are aware of it, I think you can change. Not everyone can do that. But I think you can."

Iori continued to think. _He was right. I didn't know._ She shed more tears, but they were happy ones now. "Taichi, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Would you mind it if.. if I said.. if I said that I really do love you? I mean, in the _ai_ sense?"

Another smile. "Not at all."

"Then I do. I love you."

"And I love you too."

She giggled a bit. "Ugh, I still have trouble with hearing you say those words to me. I mean, I think I get it, but it feels just so.. weird.."

"Give it time."

"Okay.."

"Time is the key. And so here's another observation of mine. You see, I believe that love works in a circle, where it flows back and forth between two people, growing stronger and stronger with each cycle."

"You mean like the _Taijitu_ with the yin and yang."

"Yeah. It's why any real love relationship grows deeper over time. Because it flows back and forth, reinforcing itself, growing stronger and stronger. And it also flows up and down between levels, between the _ai_ level and the _koi_ level. And when they cycle and flow like that, back and forth and up and down, together it creates _kokoro_ , which is the strongest form of love of all. And that's when it starts to become magical."

" _Kokoro_.."

"Yes, that's what Inaba and I try to have. But for some reason she isn't quite there yet. And frankly, I don't know why."

That surprised Iori. For here Taichi was revealing all these marvellous secrets about how love really worked, showing all this seeming deep wisdom, and yet he had just confessed that he was still clueless regarding a basic part of Inaba's personality.

Iori said quietly, "Taichi, I think I can help you with that."

He leaned forward. "Really? You can? How?"

"I only suspect, I don't know. I need to talk with Dereban about it first."

"About what?"

"I really can't tell you until I talk to her privately and confirm it. It wouldn't be right."

"I understand completely."

Another pause.

Iori sat up again and smiled. "Well, this was a very good therapy session, Doctor Yaegashi. Thank you."

Taichi leaned back. "Just remember that you have four close friends who love you, who have shared their most intimate secrets with you, who have fought alongside you just to survive, and who have strived to help you and protect you with everything they had. Just as you have protected them in return. We are your friends, your real friends. Friends of the real Iori Nagase."

"Yeah.. you are.. thank you.." Then she added, "You know, I never would have believed that this could happen, that we could come back together again as a group. Certainly not after what happened to Yui and Aoki. But I guess miracles really do happen."

"They happen every day." He got up to leave.

Iori spoke up, "Uh, hey, Taichi.."

He turned, "Yeah?"

She pulled up her arm until the cuffs clinked again. "I still kinda have a little problem here that I need help with."

Taichi slapped his head. "Gah! I forgot! We need to get you a lawyer! Dang it.. maybe I should talk to Inaba about it. I'm sure her father knows some.."

"Uh, yeah, about choosing a lawyer. Can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

Iori then told him the name of a criminal law attorney. Taichi was stunned.

"Iori, no way. You're kidding."

"She just passed the bar exam as a new defense attorney. And she'll be a damn fine one too." Taichi knew that her father had moved up the ranks from police captain to police commissioner.

"But she's so weird. Iori, she practically sexually assaulted you back in high school!"

"Actually, she tried to assault _you_. You were the one inhabiting my body when she wanted to grope me. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. But that's not important. What I mean is that girl is really freaky."

Iori shrugged. "So what if she's a bunny-ears lawyer? She's as smart as a whip. And when she finds out I'm available, I just know she'd light a torch for me again. She'd do anything to help me. She's perfect."

"Well, uh, all right. I'll contact Fujishima. Maybe I can get things arranged in time for your bail hearing. If we're lucky you might be out as early as Thursday."

"Good. Oh, and, uh, I need one other thing.." She told him.

"Oh.. right.. of course. I did offer that to you, didn't it?"

Iori grinned, "Yes, you did."

"Fine. But it's only temporary."

"Of course."

_Oh dear. Inaba is not going to like this._

* * *

_Tuesday, 11:08AM, bus stop_

Inaba ran and caught the bus barely in time. She collapsed on the bus seat still panting. As she was catching her breath her cellphone chimed.

She pulled out her cell and looked at the screen. It was an SMS text message from Aoki: _Found her. Shot by cops, in hospital trauma ward. Condition unknown. Arrested with guard outside. No info on status. Taichi is checking. Sorry._

Inaba slowly lowered the phone as she absorbed the information.

Then she bitterly hated herself.

She hated herself not because she had failed to keep Iori protected at the hotel and away from Goru. Nor was it because she blamed herself for Iori's sad and long descent down to becoming nothing more than a drug-dealer's moll.

It was because at that moment, when she had read the text message that Iori was arrested and might possibly even die, that Inaba experienced a completely unexpected and unconscious emotion. An utterly shameful one.

It was relief.

Relief that her rival was either going to prison or going to die.

And so Inaba hated herself for it.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she tried to suppress it. _If there is a God, please forgive me... please, please help me stop this awful feeling of relief._

She felt morose. It was because her knee-jerk reaction to Iori's predicament seemed to confirm all of her own worst self-doubts: she was a terrible, awful, selfish person. All of her guilty feelings about Iori came flooding back, that it was all her fault that Iori had self-destructed.

Then she heard a second chime. She looked at her cell. It was Aoki again. _I dont have a place to stay tonight. Please?_

Inaba sighed. She texted back to Aoki the address of her new apartment that she and Taichi had just signed a lease on, and that she would meet him there in a couple of hours. The apartment had a second bedroom with a nice view of the park. It was going to be Inaba's home computer office. But she knew Taichi would insist they let Aoki stay with them, so she decided to just short-circuit that little argument and agree to let Aoki live with them, at least until he could get back on his feet again.

What Inaba did not know was that at that moment Taichi was making the same offer to Iori.

* * *

_Tuesday, 12:05PM, outside of Hokkoku Bank_

Inaba departed the transfer bus in front of the location for her job interview. Traffic was bad and she was already late. She looked up at the tall building. This would be her first step into the world of business. No more school, no more training. This was it, her first step into the real world.

Then her stomach heaved. _Ack!_ She blocked her mouth with her hand. She looked quickly and saw the driveway apron on the north side of the building. She ran around the corner to hide herself just in time before she heaved out a good portion of her breakfast onto the concrete.

_Ugh. Serves me right for pigging out on that fancy hotel breakfast._ She checked herself. She was relieved that she didn't get any vomit on her interview outfit.

_Why am I so nervous? Get a grip._

She knew she had to calm herself down. But how? She knew that whenever her father was anxious - say, because a high-stakes business deal was going sour, or if her wastrel older brother was exasperating him again - that her father had an effective technique for dealing with stress. Her father would invite his longtime friend, Baso, to his home. They would each wear traditional Buddhist robes and sit side-by-side in the lotus position on a pair of mats and do _zazen_ together, their eyes closed in deep meditation. Sometimes they would do it for hours.

Normally Inaba didn't believe in that kind of thing, but at that moment she admitted that it did seem handy to have that kind of emotional support system, something to fall back on in times of trouble. At that moment she would have given anything to have something like that.

She pressed her forehead on the wall of the alley. Her life was in such turmoil. First there was the wedding disaster and her walkout and subsequent reunion with Taichi, which was all part of the seemingly endless cycle of her moody breakups and reconciliations with him. Then there was the self-inflicted damage she had caused that created her father's low opinion of his new son-in-law. It was her fault that her father now disparaged Taichi's motivations and character. Next, there was her deep feelings of inadequacy, that she was unworthy of having such a good man as Taichi as her husband, and that she had coerced him into marrying her. Finally, there was Iori's sudden return into their lives, a rival whom she believed was far, far more suited for Taichi in every meaningful way: more perceptive, more caring, more easy-going, more steadfast - someone she felt could love him properly, without her own selfishness.

And she knew that Iori's arrest and hospitalization had to be pulling strongly on Taichi's rescue instincts. Again she felt a pang of fear in her stomach. Iori could easily play the role of a damsel in distress. Indeed, it would be child's play for her. And her pleading to be rescued would be irresistible to Taichi. She could have Taichi wrapped around her finger in days, if not hours, if she really wanted him.

Inaba glanced at her watch again. Ugh. She smoothed out her suitcoat and skirt, then she picked up her small leather attaché case and walked quickly back around the corner to the main entrance.

* * *

_Tuesday, 12:09PM, inside Hokkoku Bank_

Inaba entered the elevator. It was paneled with rich mahogany wood and had a glittering mirrored ceiling. As she rode the elevator up to the 25th floor she heard the muzak playing quietly in the background.

_To everything, turn, turn, turn_

_There is a season, turn, turn, turn_

_And a time to every purpose under heaven_

_A time to keep silent, and a time to speak_

_A time to love, a time to hate_

_A time to be born, a time to die**_

She closed her eyes again to try to calm herself. _The next time I meet Baso, I'm going to ask him how he does it._

The elevator door opened.

She walked with confidence up to the reception desk.

* * *

_Tuesday, 12:25PM, outside of Hokkoku Bank, side alley_

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

Inaba then pressed her head against the alley wall in wretched misery.

It was because she had thrown up right in front of her interviewer.

"Dammit! Damn it all!"

To his credit, the manager was understanding. He even confided in her that he had seen it happen before. After she had cleaned off her blouse and skirt in the ladies restroom, the manager graciously offered to reschedule, but Inaba knew that he was just being polite. She gave him a perfunctory thank you and left the building as quickly as she could.

And then, back in that small side alley, all alone, with no one watching her, she turned around and leaned her back to the wall. And then she slowly slid down to the ground in despair.

Despite all of her years of education, all of her thousands of hours of training and study of advanced business finance, of watching a dozen of her father's high-powered business meetings, she had failed her very first job interview in the most embarrassing way possible.

She put her head in her hands as she sat there, utterly defeated.

A cloud parted and a small ray of sunlight shined on her head.

Then the sun was blocked by a shadow.

A voice spoke in a quiet monotone. "Himeko Yaegashi, you do not look well."

Inaba didn't look up. "Happy now, you bastard?"

Heartseed remained silent.

She finally lifted her head and glared at him with fierce eyes. "Rot in hell."

Heartseed ignored her retort. Instead he tilted his head. He was puzzled. "Hmm. This is odd. Why is your mind blocked to me?"

_Hah!_ Inaba's eyes became triumphant. It was because she knew that she was soon going to destroy that rotten bastard once and for all. She merely gave him a cryptic smile and said nothing.

Heartseed's eyes narrowed. "I see. Inaba, be careful. You should not trust her."

Well. So he knew.

The fact that he had just called her by her preferred name did not register with her. Instead, Inaba spat back, "Why not? She never harmed any of us, at least not like you have."

"I have never harmed any of you."

Inaba exploded at him, "Bull[bleep]! You made Iori jump off a bridge! Then while she was in the hospital, listed in critical condition, you forced us to decide which one of us would volunteer to die in her place!"

He sighed. "Ah. That. Well, you see, I knew that Nagase would not suffer any permanent injury from the fall. She was never in any real jeopardy. None of you were. But I do admit that particular test was, well, possibly a bit.. excessive."

"Possibly a bit excessive? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, I did apologize, if you recall." He did. And he never did anything like that ever again.

"God, I hate you. Your timing is impeccable, you know that? You always show up when I am at my lowest."

He made a small smile again and said nothing.

Then Inaba looked up at him, "So what is your 'test' this time, anyway? You never told me."

"The test this time is a very simple one."

"Well?"

"I want to see what would happen if I brought the five of you back together again - if you could reconstitute your nakama. Then I want to see what would change in the group dynamics and inter-relationships after several years of separation. I must say, it has been a very interesting experiment so far."

"Experiment? Experiment!? We're not goddamn lab animals, you [bleep]-hole!"

"My, my, such insolence. If anything you ought to be thankful to me. After all, I brought the band back together, so to speak. Are you not happy about that? And surely you must be grateful for the little miracle that I requested on behalf of Kiriyama and Aoki, yes?"

"Feh."

Heartseed was silent again. Inaba continued to sit on the floor of the concrete alleyway with her arms crossed, looking at the ground in angry silence. She intended to simply wait him out.

Finally he said, "Very well." He turned to leave.

And then, just before he left, he turned back briefly. "Inaba, please heed my warning. Do not trust anything she says or does. She is a master of deception. She will mislead you."

"I don't trust anything you say or do either."

"You don't have to."

"Go away."

He left.

* * *

_Tuesday, 12:39PM, 10G Express Bus_

Inaba sat on the bus. She placed her attaché case on her lap to hide the vomit stains. She was lost in thought. Then her cellphone chimed again.

She looked at it. This time it was an SMS text message from Taichi. _Iori wound not serious. Getting Fujishima as her attorney for the bail hearing. Iori is messed up. Really needs our help. Ok if she stays with us?_

Inaba looked up from the phone. Iori live with them? Was he serious? Of course he was serious. It was classic Taichi.

_Oh that's just great._ So now Taichi, Aoki and Iori would all be living together in a two-bedroom apartment. Wait, all four of them? Ugh.

Inaba began to bang her head repeatedly against the bus window. _As if things can't get any worse.. this is going to be.. so.. so.. oh brother.._

Wait, what about the sleeping arrangements? Aoki and Iori can't be put together in the same bedroom. Aoki would freak out. She suspected that Iori would simply be amused, but still, no, the sexes would need to be separated. And that meant...

That meant she would be sleeping alone with Iori.

Argh!

She stared up at the wrist straps that were dangling overhead, then she closed her eyes to try to stop the beginning of a migraine headache. The last thing she wanted was to share a bunch of embarrassing and awkward pillow-talk with her rival.

_Well, this is just great. Just great. Gosh, why don't we invite Yui too and make it an official StuCS Reunion Slumber Party?_

She let out another big sigh.

Then she sat up in her bus seat. _Wait.._ She thought for a moment. _Hmm.. A reunion get-together.. That summer house from the H-S stock acquisition.. maybe.. hey, yeah.._

It was because her father had recently bought majority stock ownership of the small but well-known firm of Hanabishi-Sakuraba, the high-end textile and retail _zaibatsu_. H-S was famous for its exquisite traditional Japanese garments: beautiful kimonos, hakamas, obis, happis, and other traditional Japanese attire that were produced by Hanabishi and sold through the Sakuraba retail store chain. H-S was particularly known for its beautiful handcrafted silk kimonos, which were widely regarded as the best made in Japan. H-S had a relatively small capitalization for a _zaibatsu_ , but the merger of the Hanabishi and Sakuraba firms had created a near monopoly in its narrow market sector of traditional Japanese fashion, and Inaba's father wanted to take advantage of it.

Her father had kept the H-S organization intact as a hands-off independent subsidiary. The original CEO, Kaoru Honjou*** (who was also the majority shareholder) had elected to step down so that he and his beautiful wife, Aoi, could travel the world as international philanthropists. Inaba had heard that their romance was quite a story in itself*4. Apparently they were currently visiting some friends of theirs in Texas.

Before Honjou stepped down, he had nominated his executive assistant, Miyabi Sakuraba*5, as his suggested replacement as the new CEO of H-S. Inaba's father had met Sakuraba during the buyout negotiations and was impressed with her character and business acumen. He agreed that she would make an excellent choice to run H-S for him as its new CEO. It raised some eyebrows, as women rarely ascended to the rank of CEO in Japan, but her father had his own notions about women ascending in the business world, as Inaba knew full well.

The negotiations for the H-S acquisition were held at a grand old western-style summer house that the Sakuraba family had originally built. It was now owned by H-S to host corporate retreats. Hanabishi had graciously invited Inaba's father to stay as a guest there during the negotiations. Her father arranged for Inaba to stay there as well, and she gladly assented. The talks were taking place during her college summer break, and she didn't want to miss the opportunity to observe high-powered business negotiations up close.

Inaba leaned back in her bus seat. She remembered those summer days fondly. She had stayed at that mansion for a week. Taichi was busy with his internship, but he managed to visit her for a couple days and had even slept overnight once in the small servants quarters next door.

It was a wonderful mansion. Her father intended to use it to host and entertain foreign businessmen because the western style architecture fit well with his plans for expansion into the North American market. It had eight bedrooms, a large communal kitchen, and a beautiful mahogany dining table. And she knew it was currently unoccupied.

Yes. It would be perfect.

* * *

_Tuesday, 1:28 PM, Suragawa Walk-In Health Clinic_

Inaba was glad that she was able to see a doctor on such short notice. She spoke to him as she sat up on the examining table while she put her blouse back on.

She said, "Just gimmie some pills to calm myself down, something to relieve all this stress. I don't want to strangle my idiot husband the next time he tries to get himself killed while saving the world or something." She finished buttoning up.

Meanwhile, an assistant entered the exam room and gave the doctor a clipboard. He started to read it.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Yaegashi but I cannot do that."

Inaba looked up. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because it would be harmful."

"Doc, I'm tougher than I look. Just gimme something to calm me down, will yah? Look, if you're worried about legal liability if I O.D. or something I'll sign a release or whatever you need."

"No. It would be unethical."

_Feh. Maybe if I tried another doctor.._

"Uhm, Mrs. Yaegashi, may I ask you when was the last time you had a medical checkup?"

"Too long. Probably more than a year ago."

"And you say you get tried easily?"

"Oh yeah. Even when just walking I get winded pretty fast. I know I should exercise more."

"Well it's understandable."

"Hmm?"

"All of the nausea, the tiredness, the vomiting, don't you see?"

Inaba blinked her eyes at him.

He patiently continued to explain it to her, "I would have thought it should have been rather obvious to you by now what is happening."

"What?"

He smiled at her. "Congratulations, Mrs. Yaegashi. I have good news.."

She stared at her doctor.

".. you are five weeks pregnant."

* * *

**A/N:**

* In Japan this style of acting is called _rakugo_ (落語). It is performed by a lone actor sitting on a mat in the middle of the stage with no one else present. Each time the actor turns his head he switches characters and changes his voice as he tells a funny story. This distinctly Japanese art form can be dated back to the early Edo era (c. 1600-1750).

** See Ecclesiastes 3

*** See _Ai Yori Aoshi_ (2002-2003). In that story Kaoru Honjou's name was Kaoru Hanabishi, but in the distant finale of the manga Kaoru had legally changed his surname to that of his beloved and dearly departed mother, Honjou, who was his father's secret mistress before he died. As soon as he was of age, Kaoru had repudiated his membership in the hated Hanabishi clan after the terrible physical abuse that he had suffered as a bastard orphan child within that extended household.

*4 See _Ai Yori Aoshi_. I'm assuming that Tina lives in Texas.

*5 In _Ai Yori Aoshi_ , Miyabi Sakuraba's name was Miyabi Kagurazaki. She was Aoi's guardian until Aoi came of age. In the distant finale of the manga she had joined the Sakuraba clan and had taken their surname. She was last seen as the general manager of the Sakuraba family's flagship store. This story assumes that she had continued her corporate ascent and became the CEO of the whole Hanabishi-Sakuraba (H-S) _zaibatsu_ when it was acquired by Inaba's father. H-S now operates as an independent subsidiary under her exceptional leadership.


	12. Big and Little Things

**Chapter 12: Big and Little Things**

_Tuesday, 12:49PM, JRCS Staff Cafeteria_

Taichi quickly entered the cafeteria. He searched for Kurosawa. He was almost 50 minutes late for his lunch invitation with his boss. He picked up a tray and quickly filled his plate with some rice and noodles, then he looked around to try to find him. Kurosawa's large size and wheelchair should be easy to spot..

He did. He saw that Kurosawa was sitting in his wheelchair at an outside table. The weather was beautiful and the view was gorgeous, with several billowy cumulostratus clouds gracefully kissing the tops of the mountains on the horizon. It was a scenic vista that would have put Ansel Adams to shame.

Taichi could see that Kurosawa was apparently in the middle of an animated discussion with another bald man that was seated across from him. Taichi carried his tray closer. It was Baso, the Buddhist monk who had helped to officiate at his Shinto-Buddhist-Western marriage ceremony with Inaba. Taichi had only briefly met him a couple times before the ceremony. He knew that Baso was a good friend of Inaba's father. From the easy-going way he was chatting with his boss, they appeared to be good friends as well.

He walked up quietly behind them. They were so engrossed in their conversation that he decided to wait and not try to interrupt his betters.

Kurosawa was speaking. ".. Baso, I respectfully disagree. I believe that we remain separate entities, that we retain our distinct identity as creations apart from Him. We do not become Him. We do not become God. That is actually mankind's first and oldest sin: man wanting to become or replace God. And that sin never goes away. It is the root of much of the evil in the world, to replace God's system with man's own. Systems like National Socialism and Communism. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot. Those failed attempts to create a man-made utopia, a Volksgemeinschaft or a worker's paradise, have caused more self-inflicted human misery and mass death than anything else in history."

The man in the orange robes smiled as he gently admonished his colleague. "Now, Akira, I did not say that. What I meant was that the bodhisattva merges with what you call the Godhead. It is like a drop of water returning to the ocean, losing its independent existence. It does not become it or replace it. Indeed, a man wanting to become God would be the height of arrogance. And that is one reason I agree with you concerning your diagnosis about human misery: that it is self-inflicted. You are correct. It is because of our failure to achieve detachment, or _nekkhamma_ , from this sad world."

Kurosawa sipped his tea as he nodded, "And on that point I agree with you as well. There is far too much worldliness, what you would call _maya_. People fail to realize that there are far more important things in life than simply chasing a paycheck or watching the ball game on TV."

Baso sipped his own tea. "Mmm."

"People simply fail to see what is right in front of their eyes. All the evidence is right there in front of them. Creation says something about the nature of its Creator. Something very important, in fact. I mean, look! Look out there!" Kurosawa pointed.

Taichi saw the Kurosawa was pointing out at the glorious scenic outdoor vista, with the emerald forests climbing up the sides of the mountains as the birds flew overhead.

"What is the purpose for this? Why?"

Baso nodded, "Ah, this is your question again, 'Why is God showing off?'"

Kurosawa chuckled, "I admit I'm deliberately being provocative whenever I say that." He leaned forward. "I do it for a reason. And here, old friend, is where we start to diverge in our two religions: The nature of Creation and its purpose."

Baso asked, "Does the universe need to have a purpose?"

Kurosawa nodded as he swallowed his noodles. "It does. Physical creation, I mean. And the reason is obvious in my opinion. Because, I mean, just look at it. Just look at it all. The stars in the heavens, the billions of majestic spiral galaxies each with billions of stars of their own, and we can _see_ it all. We can see it! It is no coincidence that the whole physical universe is carefully designed so that we can see it all as lowly humans.

Baso spoke again, "I too have great respect for just how sublime, grand, deep, and majestic the Great Wheel really is. And you are correct in that we need to realize just how insignificant we are in comparison to it. That we are utterly nothing in comparison."

"It's true, that kind of humility is very important. Wish more people had it."

Baso sighed, "Yes, that lack of humility, that lack of understanding, is what causes so much suffering in the world. But the Great Wheel exists in itself. Why is that not sufficient?"

Kurosawa's eyes were glittering, "Yes, exactly. It begs the question: Why? Why can we view the wonders of creation in our lowly maya-ridden forms? Why? Why, when we, as you would say, can simply gain nirvana and merge with it instead? Why can we see that creation as separate entities? That is why I believe that God and his creation are distinct. Isn't it obvious? Look around you. Do you see perfection? Is my body perfect? Is yours?"

The two elderly men both chuckled at that remark, with Kurosawa sitting crippled in his wheelchair and Baso's wooden cane leaning against the table.

Kurosawa pressed his point home, "The reason is simple: Creation exists to show us God's glory. Because it allows us to glorify Him in return. Don't you see? He doesn't want to merge, He wants a relationship. Someone to chat with. That, my friend, is why we exist as separate creatures. And it explains everything: why a separate Creation exists, why we have independent existence, why we have free will, why sin exists, why the Lamb had to die, everything."

Before Baso could reply to that, Taichi made a polite cough.

Both men looked up. Baso quickly stood and greeted the new JRCS employee. "Ah, Taichi-san, it is so good to see you again."

Taichi bowed deeply, "And you as well, Baso-sama."

Baso waved him off. "Oh, just call me Baso." Then they heard a chime as the lunch hour ended. Baso then said, "Well, old friend, now that your protégé is here I am afraid that I must return back to the temple to do _gongyo_ with my kouhai." He nodded farewell to his companion. Then he looked back at Taichi. "I wish you and your beautiful wife a long and happy marriage."

"Thank you sir."

Baso then asked, "I trust that everything.. is going well with your wife?"

Kurosawas's sharp senses caught the subtle implication. _Hmm. So Baso thinks the boy is having problems with his homelife._

Taichi spoke quickly, "Oh yes sir, everything is fine."

"I see. Well, as I said, I must be going." His eyes twinkled a bit. "I am sure you two have much to talk about." He made a small bow and left.

Taichi then turned and bowed again deeply to his superior, "I am very sorry, Kurosawa-sensei, for being so late."

"Pshaw, it's just lunch. I'm sure you must have had a good reason. Anyway, sit down and eat." He sat.

Taichi began to eat his noodles. After a moment he decided to try to make conversation. "So, uhm, it sounded like you and Baso were talking about the creation of the universe?"

Kurosawa nodded as he spoke through a mouthful of brown rice. "Yes. I really wish that more Christians had that sense of wonder, an appreciation of just how grand, vast, and majestic God's creation really is. The observable universe has over 100 billion galaxies each with 100 billion stars."

"Wow."

"And it's all there for us to actually see. And that is no accident; it's not a coincidence that we can see it all. The Bible says it plainly: _The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands._ * And it does. It's all there to see as plain as day.

Taichi grinned, "I take it, sir, that you are an astronomy buff?"

Kurosawa smiled again. "I think you really meant to say 'astronomy geek'. Heh. Well, I am. It's because when I was a child at the orphanage there was a small telescope mounted on the rooftop. I would sometimes sneak up there late at night, all by myself, and look the stars. One night I saw the moons of Jupiter. Those moons were only point sources of light, but I knew that each dot was a world unto itself. I was awed."

Taichi recalled how he spent evenings himself on his back to view the stars. "Yeah, watching the stars like that is really wonderful."

"It truly is. I think that kind of understanding and appreciation of His creation, of what God has actually wrought, is sometimes lacking in certain 'Sunday-go-to-meeting' Christians, as I call them, who like to keep God and His works in a small box. They pull it all out of that box Sunday mornings, sing a few hymns about it, then put it back in that box and go home. God is so much bigger than that." Then he added, "Of course there are many Christians who do understand what the hymn _How Great Thou Art_ really means when they sing it."

Taichi asked, "Aren't there people who believe that the universe was created 6000 years ago in six literal 24-hour days?"

Kurosawa shook his head sadly. "God is so much greater than what we can comprehend. The apostle Peter once wrote, _With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day._ ** I think he was saying that the notion of time is basically irrelevant from God's perspective. That is why I think those 6000 year timelines and 24 hour creation clocks are silly. All they do is merely diminish His true majesty and glory, as is so plainly manifested in what He actually created."

"So you believe that the universe is not 6000 years old?"

"No. It's mainly a canard tossed out by atheists to try to denigrate believers. That is why you see it brought up in the media all the time. But if you take a poll of actual evangelicals, you will find that very few believe that. In fact, more atheists believe in the existence of UFOs than there are young-Earth creationists. And the reason is simple: It is not Biblical. That 6000 year timeline was actually cooked up in 1642 by a guy named James Ussher. You see, at that time the Renaissance Enlightenment was really taking off. Great thinkers like Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton were showing that the motions of the heavens operated only with a few basic rules, and they were predictable and universal. Meanwhile Christian thinkers like Erasmus argued that faith and reason were compatible. Not only compatible, but essentially so. God is a rational being. Ussher was simply trying to apply the new logical thinking of the day to better understand and appreciate God's creation and plan. He did the best he could with the knowledge he had at the time.

"The idea of the Enlightenment and the Reformation was that God's plan for us could be understood by anyone - that the Bible was not supposed to be written in some secret dead language that was read only by priests who understood Latin. God is a rational being who loves us, and He wants us to get to know Him. Therefore the Enlightenment believed that all the laws and principles that controlled Creation could be understood, that God is a logical being whose creation operated on logical rules. Isaac Newton was a firm believer in a clockwork God, that all of the motions of the heavens were based on only a few basic rules, ones that he could accurately use to predict the position of every single heavenly body. Well, it turned out he was both right and wrong. Newton was right in that his Principles of Motion were indeed a rather good approximation for the kinematic behavior of simple systems within a gravity gradient at non-relativistic speeds, but he was wrong in that any kind of non-trivial system, like the three-body problem, actually has no analytic solution, and those seemlingly simple rules would quickly explode into incredible choatic complexity that is impossible for anyone to predict over long periods of time, even with a supercomputer.

"But Ussher did a basic misreading of Peter. What he did was simple. God created the world in 6 days, a day to God is a 1000 years, so 6 times 1000 years = 6000 years, QED. But don't you see? That's not what Peter wrote! He wrote a thousand years is _like_ a day to Him, not that it literally was. And I'm not making excuses here. I'm not handwaving it away by claiming he was merely using a metaphor. I'm not. Why? Because Peter wasn't using a metaphor - it's a  simile ('like a'). Peter wrote 'like a' very deliberately, I think, to prevent exactly the kind of bogus literal misinterpretation that Ussher did. To underscore that fact Peter intentionally used two similes and reversed them: that from God's perspective it can go either way. In other words, I think the point Peter is making is actually quite clear: that the passage of time is basically irrelevant from God's perspective."

"So you're saying Ussher was trying to downsize God, to put Him in a box."

"Oh, I don't think that was his deliberate intention. He was just a man of his time. The point is, we lowly humans need to be very, very careful when we presume to know what God is thinking. Who can understand His unfathomable mind?*** All we know for certain is that He loves us and He wants a relationship with us."

"Because God is love." That much Taichi already knew instinctively.

"Yes, He is."

Taichi then started to protest. "But.. then.. why is there so much evil in the world? If He loves us, why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"

Kurosawa's eyes twinkled a bit. "Ah. Yes. My, you jump right into the thick of it, don't you? Well that, my boy, is indeed a very excellent question."

Then he looked at his watch. "Uh oh, I'm already late for my next meeting."

Taichi felt vaguely disappointed.

Taichi had tried to stand up as Kurosawa cleaned up the remains of his serving tray, but Kurosawa quickly waved him back down. "Sit down, lad, and eat your lunch."

"Yes, sir.."

Kurosawa slapped his back. It made Taichi choke on his noodles. "It's okay, lad! You're just asking the same questions that mankind has been asking for thousands of years. You won't be the first and you won't be the last."

"Of course, sir."

Then Kurosawa leaned in and and whispered almost conspiratorially, "Look, I hate to just leave you twisting in the wind like this, so I tell you what. I'll give you a quick hint about my personal thoughts on that. It's just three words, what I call 'The Three Cs'."

"The three Cs?"

"Corrective, constructive, and controlling."

"Oh, I see." He didn't.

"Well, don't worry about it for now. You asked a great question, so just think about it. Then let's see if we can have another lunch together. It will depend on my schedule, of course." Kurosawa wiped his face. "Oh, don't forget the 3 o'clock staff meeting. I need to introduce you to the team." Then he frowned a bit. "Yaegashi, being late for a friendly lunch is one thing, but I do expect my subordinates to be on time for our work meetings. Understood?"

Taichi sat up straight. "Yes sir!"

His mentor smiled again, "Well, enjoy the rest of your lunch. And don't forget to adjust your timecard." The wheelchair hummed as it rolled away.

Taichi continued to eat his noodles thoughtfully.

* * *

_Tuesday, 3:10PM, JRCS staff meeting room_

Taichi was introduced to the other members of the Disaster Rapid Response Team. They seemed to come from all walks of life. Some of them appeared to be ex-military, like Bakou, who was an unpaid volunteer. The large and muscular man's expressionless face unnerved Taichi. It was because his face reminded him of Heartseed.

And then Taichi was more than a little startled when Kurosawa introduced him to another disaster-relief worker, a man named Keiso. He immediately recognized him.

Keiso was the guard that was standing in front of Iori's suite.

"Uh, hello, sir..." For whatever reason, Keiso went along with the introduction and didn't rat Taichi out.

At one point during the meeting Taichi felt his cellphone vibrate. He checked later it when he returned back to his cubicle. It was a text message from Inaba.

_I gave Aoki my apartment key. I need some time alone. It's not you, it's me. Don't worry, I'll be home by Friday. I told Father we'd have dinner with him that night so I can apologize. Really need you there. Give Iori my love._

Taichi sighed quietly. Apparently Inaba was still wrestling with her demons.

He decided that he would talk to Iori about it the next time he had the opportunity. He had already made the appointment to meet with Fujishima tomorrow at her office during his lunch break.

With a powerhouse like Fujishima in their corner, he felt that there was a good chance that Iori could be out on bail as early as Thursday's afternoon court hearing. He felt bad about the mix-up with Aoki, but it couldn't be helped at this point.

And Iori had promised to help them both. Yes, she could help. After all, Iori knew Inaba as well as he did.

And in some ways even better.

* * *

_Tuesday, 1:31 PM, Suragawa Health Clinic_

Inaba stared blankly in shock. Finally she said quietly, "That's impossible.."

Her doctor replied, "I assure you the test is quite positive. And frankly you should have at least suspected it by now: The nausea, your physical weakness, the vomiting. And it's been over a month since.."

"That was just stress! I've skipped it before!"

"I see.."

She mumbled quietly to herself, "No, this is impossible.. we always used protection.."

The doctor overheard her. He asked, "You or him?"

"Well, him, of course." It was because oral contraceptives were banned in Japan for family-planning use.*4

The doctor was sympathetic, but there was still a small hint of irritation as he lectured her. "Young lady, you would not believe the number of high school and college age girls that I have had sitting in this examination room, sitting on that very same table where you are sitting now, all saying those same exact words: 'But we used protection!'."

"But.."

"That kind of contraception is far from infallable, as are most other kinds. The bottom line is that if you are not ready to have a child, then you are not ready to have sex."

She looked down. "I know that.."

He tried to reassure her. "Well, fortunately in this case the situation is not so dire. You told me you just got married, so obviously you are in a secure love relationship, yes?"

Inaba hesitated. She said finally, "Of course I am."

The doctor caught the hesitation. "Hmm. I assume he is the father, correct?"

Inaba's anger flared up. "What are you implying? Of course he is the father!"

"Yes, of course he is. My sincere apologies."

But Inaba ignored him because she was looking off into space again.

She said quietly, "No.. I can't.."

The doctor then said, "Madam, please permit me to apologize again as I don't mean to pry into your personal affairs, but I do not understand why you appear to be so upset. If you were an underage girl in high school living at home, then yes, I can very well understand your reaction. But you are a married woman with a loving husband. I am sure that your husband will be a loving father to his child, and your own parents will no doubt be just as thrilled with news that their first grandchild is on the way. Yes?"

"No.. I can't have a child.. I mean, me? A mother? Are you kidding?"

The doctor continued to look sympathetically upon his distraught patient. It was hardly the first time that he had seen this kind of reaction from a surprised new mother-to-be.

She keep talking to herself, "No.. it's too soon.."

The doctor responded, "Too soon?"

Inaba explained her situation, that she was entering the world of high finance. She would be fighting in a vicious world that took no prisoners, where defeat and utter ruin was often only one business-deal away. It was a world with no sympathy for a new mother. It was a nasty realm that required utter ruthlessness. Her father had lectured her many times about it.

Her father. Her deeply traditional Japanese father.

Oh no.

For you see, for all of Japan's wonderful technology, for all of its scientific achievements, for all of its industrial prowess as a premiere first-world country, it was still a very conservative culture. In Japanese society a young woman was supposed to enter the workforce for only a few years, say as a sales lady or a door greeter. Then she was supposed to retire to become a homemaker and mother. It was simply expected. The western notion of comprehensive child daycare was almost unheard of in Japan. Such facilities were practically nonexistent.

The traditional role of the stay-at-home mother was especially strong in the large segment of Japanese society that comprised the older generation. It was a generation that dominated the politics of that country, as the birth rate had fallen down to only 1.3 births per woman, far below the natural replacement rate of 2.1.

It was a demographic implosion the likes of which the world has never seen before. In some ways it was far worse than even in the worst wars and epidemics in human history. For example, the Black Death (1346-53) killed over 80 million people, almost half of the population of Europe. But that pandemic, as horrible as it was, had culled mainly the weak, the infirm, and the elderly. The strong survived. But the demographic implosion that was happening today in Japan was culling out the young and the strong, leaving behind only the old and weak.

And so, as Japan's slow, sad, slide into demographic oblivion continued inexorably, it left the elder traditionalists even more entrenched in power: politically, economically, and culturally, more and more.

People like Inaba's father. And she knew it. Her father would insist that she stay at home.

And it would devastate him.

And it was all her fault.

It was because her father was carefully grooming her as his replacement to eventually take over his empire. But now that couldn't happen, as women were not supposed to enter the workforce with children still living at home. And her father was already getting on in years. Meanwhile it could be a decade or more before she could re-enter the workforce again.

She mentally kicked herself. Taichi had previously asked her a few times about having children, all in his charmingly bashful way. But she was always careful to remain non-committal in response to his inquiries. Secretly she didn't want kids. Partly it was because she believed that she would be an awful mother. And so she had always tried to avoid bringing up the topic with Taichi. Her responses to the few times that he had built up the courage to ask her about it were always vague and non-specific. Perhaps, well, yes in principle, sure, some day we can try to have kids, but not now. It's too soon. The unspoken implication was it would be years away.

And if it was discovered that she had become infertile because they had waited too long? Well, _c'est le vie_.

Still, Inaba felt that Taichi would have made for a wonderful father. She was right, of course, but what she did not know was just how much of an understatement that actually was - that that man, whose very existence was practically defined by love itself, would have loved his children with a passion and a depth and an intensity that would have amazed her, in way that at this point in her still-young life that she still could not even begin to understand.

She remained seated on the exam table lost in her own thoughts.

The doctor waited.

More silence.

The doctor finally asked the question that he was obligated to ask. "I take it, then, that you are considering terminating your pregnancy?"

Inaba nodded absently.

Now, Inaba knew that abortion was illegal in Japan. So was the Pill. (There were rare medical exceptions of course.) It was part and parcel with Japan's conservative culture. And much of the political resistance to relaxing those laws was for another reason: That it would simply exacerbate the country's plummeting population decline even more.

Only condoms were considered acceptable for contraception in Japan. But, as her doctor had patiently explained to her, they were far from infallible. Inaba knew that sometimes her enthusaism with Taichi had caused problems with them - it happened more than once in fact. In hindsight it was a minor miracle that she hadn't gotten pregnant earlier.

Although she knew that abortion was officially illegal in Japan, she also knew that there were ways around the rules. One exception was for socioeconomic reasons. Another was for health reasons. She felt it would be a relatively simple matter for her to find a compliant doctor if she needed to.

Or should she keep her baby?

For Taichi?

No, the problem was her father. In Japanese culture it was expected, nay required, for a woman to quit her job to raise her children. That would be particularly true in old-fashioned families like hers. He would expect her to stay at home to raise her child. But wait, her family was wealthy enough to afford a live-in nanny. That was how she grew up herself, after all..

But wait.. a nanny? She remembered what happened to her, how growing up in isolation like that had permanently damaged her psyche. Her own child would be reliving her own miserable life, wouldn't it? Inaba felt she could never force a child to endure the same empty and sterile childhood that she had suffered herself, alone and unloved.

It all started because her mother had divorced her father. She remembered how furious her father was for her leaving him, and how skillfully he maneuvered his legal team and played the court system like a marionette. Her mother was left bankrupt with unpayable legal bills. He eventually repaid her debts himself, with the quid pro quo of receiving custody of her children.

And so as a child Inaba barely saw anyone in her family. Her new socialite step-mother had basically ignored her, and she hardly ever saw her older brother either. He was a lazy drunken wastrel who spent his money on fast cars and loose women. And after a series of scandals - including a particularly bad one involving a photo of him at a South Korean brothel - her father had disowned him. As far as she knew he was still living in that country.

No, she would not repeat those mistakes in her own life.

She finally spoke up, "But how? I thought it was still illegal."

"It is. But as a practical matter the socioeconomic exception under the Maternal Health Protection Law of 2006 allows virtually anyone to have one. Granted, in your case an economic hardship would be difficult to justify, but social reasons are always valid." Indeed, since the law was changed it became essentially a rubber stamp that was almost always approved.

She continued to think. "But do I have to tell my husband?"

The doctor considered her question for a moment. "Hmm. The law requires that your spouse must be notified. But this is a borderline case. Because the conception had actually happened before your marriage, I suppose it is not strictly required that you tell him. But I would counsel you strongly to do so."

She looked down. "I understand. You don't have to explain to me why."

He did so anyway. "Mrs. Yaegashi, I need to strongly advise you to inform your husband. If he found out after the fact that you had aborted his child without telling him, it could easily destroy your marriage."

Yes, it easily could. But wait, she thought to herself, this is Taichi we are talking about. Would Taichi leave her because of it? Something even as devastating to him as this?

No. He was Taichi. He would stay.

But it would hurt him. It would be the greatest hurt ever experienced in his life, far worse than anything Heartseed had ever done. What Inaba did not know was that he would become like the walking wounded, with a wound that could never be healed. It would be a rift that would forever separate him emotionally from his spouse.

He would stay with her, of course. He wouldn't leave her. And he would still tell her he loved her; he would even believe it himself, for the strength of his love was like a diamond, but a diamond can shatter if it was carefully struck by a blow in precisely the right spot. For his heart would indeed shatter, and thereafter his love for her would only be out of his sense of duty, a cost paid by the man who was a walking sacrifice.

And so she realized it with absolute certainty: That if she did decide to end her pregnancy then Taichi must never know.

Never.

And none of her friends must ever know either.

Ever.

* * *

_Tuesday, 2:45PM, 12D Express Bus_

Inaba was riding the transfer bus back to her new shared apartment with Taichi. She knew that Aoki would be waiting there for her to let him inside. He would need a key.

She continued to brood as she pressed the back of her head against the window. So much was happening so fast: Her pregnancy, dealing with Iori living with them, her roller-coaster relationship with Taichi, Heartseed's surprise return, Rina's bargain.

She thought about that last one. Well, at least there was one item on that list that she was looking forward to: She would finally be rid of that bastard Heartseed once and for all. And good riddance.

Then she began to think about Rina's words to her again.

_You will utterly destroy him, or at least you will hurt him quite severely. At minimum I can guarantee that he will never be able to perform any further 'tests' on you or your friends._

_All I will do is take a small payment from you, only a little thing, and then our business is finished._

A little thing.

The world seemed to telescope away as the realization hit her. She stared straight ahead as she absently dropped her small attaché case on the floor of the bus. As she did so she was beginning to draw the attention of some of the other bus riders.

Only one small payment.

Only a little thing.

Even at five weeks, with the creation of the brain, spinal cord and heart all well underway, her fetus was still less than an inch long.

She clutched her stomach.

One little thing.

She fainted.

* * *

**A/N:**

* Ps 19:1

** 2 Peter 3:8, based on Ps 90:4. (The latter also uses 'like a' in a simile.)

*** 1 Cor 2:11,16

*4 Until 2011


	13. Plans and Representations

**Chapter 13: Plans and Representations**

_Tuesday, 2:50PM, 12D Express Bus_

Inaba quickly recovered and sat up on the bus floor. Two other bus patrons were kneeling beside her. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

She began to stand up. "Oh, I'm fine. It was just a dizzy spell. I get them occasionally. Nothing to worry about." She quickly gathered her belongings and sat back down on her seat again.

As the bus slowed for its next stop, one of the other passengers went up to the bus driver to notify him of the situation. The driver walked back to check on his ill passenger after the other passengers had finished disembarking.

But it was too late. Inaba had already left the bus and was gone.

A short while later she met with Aoki outside her apartment and gave him her key. She explained to him that she would probably be staying somewhere else for the next couple nights. She reassured Aoki that she and Taichi were just fine, no fights, and that she just needed some time alone. Aoki asked her the reason why, and she replied that it was a small personal matter. She told him she would return no later than Friday.

She did not tell him that a few minutes earlier she had received a call on her cellphone with an offer for a job interview tomorrow.

After she left Aoki at her apartment, she walked across the street to the park. There she sat alone on a wooden bench in front of a small pond. After a few minutes she saw a cluster of tiny ducklings paddling by. They were valiantly trying to keep up with their mother as she drifted complacently in front of them.

She remained seated there for over an hour. Eventually she got up and walked away.

* * *

_Wednesday, 12:00PM, JRCS Regional Headquarters_

The clock chime sounded to announce the start of the lunch hour. As soon as Taichi heard it he jumped from his cubicle and ran downstairs to meet with Aoki, who was waiting for him in the front lobby.

Aoki was wearing one of Taichi's extra business suits. His broad muscular shoulders prevented the suit from buttoning up, but it was the best that could be done on short notice.

They hurried over to Fujishima's office for their scheduled appointment with the young newly minted criminal attorney. It was only five blocks away so they went on foot.

* * *

_Wednesday, 12:12PM, Law offices of Fujishima Hōritsu Jimusho_

Taichi and Aoki tried to catch their their breath as they rode up the elevator to the 18th floor of the office building. A majordomo greeted them as they entered vestibule of Fujishima's suite. He was a formidable-looking gentleman wearing a somber black suit. Taichi guessed correctly that he had martial arts training.

The tall man wordlessly led the pair down a short hallway. The hallway had the smell of newly installed carpet. Some side doors were open, and Taichi glanced into them. He noticed that some of the boxes were not yet unpacked.

The majordomo led the pair to a set of double-doors at the end of the hall. He opened them and gestured for Taichi and Aoki to enter.

It was an elegant executive office suite that was large even by American standards. The room was dominated by an imposing desk that was located on the far end of the room opposite the main doors. Sunlight streamed in behind the desk. The light was coming in from six broad sealed plate glass windows; the same broad windows dominated the other two sides of the large room. The ceiling was low and darkly lit, causing anything near the windows to appear backlit. This included the strikingly dramatic silhouette of the individual who was now sitting behind the enormous desk.

The majordomo led the two visitors across the room. He stood in front of a pair of padded visitor-chairs that were emplaced in front of the huge desk.

An unseen voice then spoke to them. The voice had low, rich, melodious tones. "Welcome to my humble abode, gentleman. Please, have a seat."

Both men bowed and sat in the offered chairs. The majordomo soundlessly turned and left the room. The chairs were comfortable but were a bit low, forcing Taichi and Aoki to look up at the person speaking to them. Taichi blinked his eyes to try to adjust to the sunlight that pouring in from behind the silhouette. He started to feel a bit nervous.

After a pause, the black silhouetted figure slowly leaned forward and finally came into view. The high back of the executive chair blocked the incoming sunlight so that Taichi could finally see the chair's occupant clearly.

It was Maiko Fujishima. Her dark shoulder-length hair was wrapped up tightly in a bun with a small ponytail. Her business attire was formal: a long-sleeved form-fitted black wool suit worn over a starched white ruffled blouse and a Colonel Saunders tie. Her sleeves had small gold cuff-links. Her wireframe oval eyeglasses reflected the light from an unseen illumination source in front of her, making the lenses appear white and opaque. Her white-gloved hands were steepled thoughtfully in front of her face with the fingers interlocked, covering any view of her mouth, as she scanned her visitors with a cool appraisal.

Aoki visibly gulped. Taichi pulled on his tie apprehensively.

Then Taichi spotted a grin of satisfaction hiding behind those clasped hands. She was clearly enjoying their nervous reaction.

The sight of her clasped hands tickled a memory in the back of Taichi's mind. He felt a strong sense of déjà vu _._ Had he seen all of this somewhere before? Yes.. he was certain of it now. It was all there: The huge imposing office, the low dark ceiling, the large desk, the mysterious backlit silhouette leaning forward into view, the scary shiny eyeglasses, the white-gloved hands clasped together under the nose. But where had he seen it?

Where was it.. ? Wait. Ah. He remembered.

Fujishima was doing the famous 'Gendo Ikari pose' from _Neon Genesis Evangelion_. It was obvious to Taichi now: Her steepled hands were carefully reproducing Gendo Ikari's iconic pose. He guessed there must be a hidden pencil-light installed into the ceiling and aimed at her eyeglasses to create the requisite shiny-glasses effect whenever she leaned forward.

Taichi nearly burst out laughing. _Good old Fujishima._ Her theatrics were so over-the-top that he was forced to dig his fingernail into his forethumb to try to stifle the impending giggle-fit. It worked. After all, it wouldn't do for him to crack up in front of her, as he genuinely needed her help.

A few moments passed. Finally, after judging that her visitors were now suitably impressed, she dropped her hands, leaned back in her high-backed chair, and give her two visitors a pleasant smile. "Would either of you like some hot tea?"

Before either man could answer, a servant girl appeared seemingly out of nowhere and bowed. Taichi guessed that Fujishima must have pressed a hidden call-button. The attorney said crisply to her maid-servant, "Three green teas, please."

The girl bowed again and said, "Yes, Fujishima-sama." Just before she turned to leave, Taichi got a good look at the girl's outfit and his eyes boggled. She was wearing an elaborate 19th century french-maid costume that looked like it belonged in an otaku cosplay competition rather than in a prestigious law office. She was wearing a white headdress, a frilly white apron with lace trim, and a black skirt with white undergarments. The skirt was short enough to qualify for Zettai Ryouiki territory.

As the maid opened the door to fetch the teas, a small dog ran past her legs and entered the room. The dog bounded up to Fujishima and panted in delight as it sat obediently before its master.

It was the ugliest french bulldog that Taichi had ever seen.

Fujishima turned her chair and beamed at her darling pet. "Fluffy-wuffy! Come here!" The dog jumped on her lap. She slid open a drawer in her desk and pulled out a doggy biscuit in the shape of a bone, which she then proceeded to place between her own lips. The dog rose up on two legs to gently pull the biscuit from out of her mouth.

Taichi thought, _Eewww.._

The dog jumped down to chew on its treat. Fujishima then turned to face her visitors and said, "Oh dear, pardon my poor manners." At first Taichi assumed she was referring to the dog biscuit, but he was wrong. She leaned down and picked up the dog and placed it on her desk. "Fluffy-wuffy, please introduce yourself to our guests." The dog gave a happy bark to the two visitors. She then placed the dog back in her lap again.

She explained, "After my darling Peaches had passed away I was heartbroken, and I promised myself that I would never own another dog. But then one day during my daily constitutional walk I had spotted this poor little creature lost and alone in the street. He had no collar, and it looked like he hadn't eaten in days. His eyes were so sad.. I just had to rescue him. I mean, look at those beautiful eyes! How could anyone say 'no' to those adorable eyes?"

Taichi looked at the french bulldog's bulging eyes. It reminded him of Peter Lorre.

She went on, "I didn't want to turn him over to Animal Control because I knew it would mean almost certain death for the poor thing*. So I put up posters in the neighborhood but no one claimed him." She smiled at her pet. "I think it was fate that brought us together."

She gave the dog a hug and then placed it back on the floor. It promptly ran to the exit to wait for the door to open. A moment later it did, and the dog rushed out of the room with its half-consumed biscuit as the maid re-entered with the tea tray.

The maid quickly brought over the serving tray. It held a beautiful antique silver teapot and three bone china teacups. She quietly served each of them in turn - Fujishima first. As she bent over to fill Taichi's teacup he could hear Aoki's audible gasp at the scenic vista that she was presenting to him from behind.

The ritual having been concluded, Fujishima decided it was time to begin the meeting. "Well, gentleman, what brings you to my humble little law practice on this lovely sunny afternoon?"

Taichi leaned forward in his chair, "Thank you, Fujishima-san, for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice. We really appreciate it. You understand the situation with Nagase?"

She nodded. "Yes. And thank you, Yaegashi, for your phone call. When you informed me that Iori had been shot by the police my heart skipped a beat. I was so relieved to hear that her injury was not serious. I really must talk to my father again about the need for proper care in dealing with innocent bystanders in SWAT raids." On the desk Taichi saw a framed photo of her police-commissioner father and his wife standing proudly next to their daughter during her law-school graduation ceremony. It also served as a not-so-subtle reminder of Fujishima's influential connections with the police.

Taichi did not miss the fact that Fujishima had just called Nagase 'Iori' while he was still 'Yaegashi'. "So you will take Nagase as a client, then?"

Fujishima sat up straight. "But of course! I was her classroom representative at Yamaboshi Academy after all. As classroom representative it was my personal obligation to protect and take care of all my charges." She primly placed her hand over her heart. "And so I feel that it is my solemn duty as a criminal attorney to continue to protect all the students that were under my loving care."

Aoki looked hopeful. Taichi said, "Thank you so much. I know you must be very busy."

"Oh not at all. I only opened this law practice last week. Say, do you like my new office? I had it designed to my personal specifications."

Taichi replied, "Uh, well, it definitely reflects your style. Very nice."

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I'm so glad you like it. I know it seems a bit theatrical, but I feel that first impressions are so dreadfully important."

"Oh, I agree." Aoki simply nodded.

Fujishima leaned back in her chair again. "I was shocked when you told me what happened to Iori. After we all had graduated I tried to check up on her but I couldn't locate her. Apparently she had left your little group, and her mother had told me on the telephone that she didn't know how to reach her anymore." Iori had previously instructed her mother to give Fujishima that little lie in case she ever called.

The young attorney sighed. "I've thought of Iori so many times since them. That poor, poor girl. I had no idea that she was in such dire straits. So lost, so alone. And now her lover is dead. Such a tragedy." She leaned forward again. The glasses turned white.

"Well. I see it all now."

"Uh, you do?"

"Certainly. She needs someone to protect her. To guide her. And of course that person is me."

Taichi didn't know how to reply to that statement. Instead he said, "Well, yes, we really do need your help with her bail hearing. It's scheduled for tomorrow at 2 o'clock. I hope that's not too soon for you?"

"I can make it. But I will need to prepare immediately. I take it, then, that she is locked up in the prefecture detention center?" Taichi nodded. In reply she said, "Then I will go down to visit her immediately and have her sign the representation agreement. Pro bono, of course."

Taichi made a bow. "Thank you so much, Fujishima-san. We really appreciate your kind generosity."

She waved him off. "It's the least I could do. As I said, as your former classroom representative I feel that it is my solemn duty as a criminal attorney to continue to protect the students that were under my care."

Taichi was elated. "That's wonderful! And so you'll take on Aoki's case too?"

Fujishima face quickly frowned.

She didn't hesitate in her response. "No."

Taichi was confused. "What? Why not?"

"He's toxic."

"Huh? Toxic? Why?"

"Because of what he did."

Aoki leaned forward and finally spoke up, "But I didn't do anything!"

She turned to face him. "Exactly. That's the problem. You didn't do anything."

Aoki started to protest, "But.." Then he stopped talking. It was because he saw the expression on Fujishima's face.

Taichi saw it too. He bit his lip again to stifle another smirk.

It was because Fujishima had finally noticed Aoki's powerful physique. She was stunned.

Aoki was wearing a business suit that was clearly too tight for him. The ill-fitting suit merely accentuated his broad muscular chest. It made him look like Superman wearing his Clark Kent disguise.

Fujishima's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She quietly whispered, "Oh my.."

She had a vision of Aoki - sans suit, shirt, and tie - jumping on her desk like a Chippendale dancer. She quickly closed her eyes to wipe away that enthralling image as she fought valiantly to regain her composure. Then she opened her eyes again. "No, I'm sorry, I can't take him.." She was eyeing him up and down. ".. as much as I'd like to have him.." Taichi was sighing softly. ".. and I really do.."

She picked up a copy of _Asahi Shimbun_ that was laying on her desk.

".. but I can't. And here is why."

She tossed the newspaper in Taichi's lap. "Read it."

Taichi opened the newspaper. He found a small article under the fold on page one. The headline read _Girl Awakens From 4 Year Coma_. In the article he saw small photos of Yui, Aoki, and Doctor Niban. The article basically rehashed the events of Yui's awakening.

Taichi leaned over and asked Aoki, "Hey, did you talk to the press?"

Aoki shook his head, "Nuh-uh. Nobody contacted me." That was not surprising, as no one knew where Aoki was currently living except for his parole officer.

Taichi opened the rest of the paper and quickly scanned the full article. Apparently Doctor Niban had tipped off the press about Yui's awakening. He was quoted at length as he described Yui's undiagnosed craniosynostosis, her seemingly miraculous revival, and how he personally managed her remarkable recovery. Taichi noticed that the writer of the news article had described the doctor in rather flattering terms. The doctor did not directly claim credit for the miracle, but the article certainly would not hurt his reputation as a premiere neurologist. Other than the odd fact that there were no quotes from Yui or anyone in her family, the article seemed to be just another harmless puff piece.

He looked up. "I don't see the problem..?"

Fujishima replied dryly, "The problem isn't on page one. The problem is page 15." Taichi turned to that page.

It was the editorial section. Uh-oh.

Taichi read the main opinion piece. It was entitled _Kiriyama Case Shows Need for Police Reform_.

The editorial was an acerbic rebuke of the Yamaboshi Police Department, accusing it of improper interrogation methods in forcing Aoki into signing an obviously false confession. It also lambasted the Ministry of Justice, citing the Kiriyama case as a prime example of how the Japanese justice system railroads innocent suspects with a 99+% conviction rate. It urged the government to make major reforms of both the police department and the ministry.

Taichi knew that _Asahi Shimbun_ was a prominent newspaper with a wide national readership. This was not good at all.

Taichi quickly spoke up, "Fujishima-san, please, I assure you that none of us had anything to do with that newspaper article or that opinion piece."

Fujishima propped up her head with her hands. "Doesn't matter. My father is going to blow a gasket when he reads that editorial."

Taichi pleaded, "But your father wasn't the police commissioner when it happened! Nobody can blame him for the actions of his predecessor. So it can't be all that bad, right?"

She gave him a sad look. "No, it's actually a lot worse.."

"Worse?"

Fujishima stood up. She yelled at him, " _He was the police captain!_ When Aoki recanted his confession, my father was the one who personally ordered the extended interrogations!"

Taichi understood. The editorial was going to cause the Kiriyama case to become a political football. The case was now a liability both to the police department and to the Ministry of Justice. It was ammunition that could be used to attack the police commissioner or the ministry by any one of the many political factions that existed both inside and outside the government.

Fujishima sat back down and sighed, "The entire department just wants the whole case to go away. To disappear. That's why I can't represent him."

Aoki sat up earnestly and spoke quietly with conviction. "Ma'am, with respect, I completely understand your position. Your father was just doing his job. I have no ill-will against the police force nor the courts for what happened to me. It was my fault for not explaining what really happened. I promise that I will do whatever I can to help your father and the police."

Fujishima was impressed by the large man's heartfelt plea. Her estimation of him rose several notches.

"Aoki, I appreciate your kind offer. Well, for starters, whatever you do, _do not_ talk to the press, no matter what. Even if you intend only to tell them what you just told me - which was very noble of you by the way - just don't do it. Any additional publicity, no matter how well intentioned, would only make things worse at this point."

Taichi spoke up, "Of course. We understand. Look, Fujishima, all we need from you is to get his criminal record expunged so that he can get a job. That's it."

Fujishima mused, "Hmm.. should be easy. I am sure the prosecutor's office would cooperate. We can probably fast-track it through the appeals courts. We would need a deposition from Kiriyama and a statement from the prosecutor's office. Those two items should make overturning his conviction pretty much automatic."

Taichi leaned forward. "And you are the best person to do it. Look, everybody wants this case to go away as quietly as possible, right? Well, with your connections you could arrange things to keep the press out of the loop. You could, say, reschedule the appeals hearing at the last minute so they miss it, and do other stuff like that, right?"

Fujishima said thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose I could. My father would certainly appreciate it."

"Then will you please represent Aoki?"

She sighed. "All right, fine. I'll do it. Happy now?"

Aoki jumped up and bowed deeply, "Thank you!"

Taichi stood up and bowed as well. "Thank you, Fujishima-san, from all of us. Your former classmates are deeply in your debt."

Fujishima nodded absently. She was busy thinking.

Taichi smiled. "And I'm sure Iori will be very happy to see you as well." He was shading the truth a bit. He knew that Iori would assume a fake persona in dealing with Fujishima, one that would maximally motivate the young attorney to do everything possible on behalf of her new client.

Taichi checked his watch. He saw that the lunch hour was nearing its end, and he would need to hurry back to avoid being late for work again.

Aoki signed the representation agreement, and the two men bowed and left.

* * *

Fujishima was alone.

And in that large office, with not a soul watching her, Fujishima's hands again assumed the Gendo Ikari pose.

She continued to think. Then she made a devilish grin under her folded hands. It was because she had formulated a plan.

For you see, Fujishima had her own designs on Iori Nagase.

After graduation Fujishima had quickly tired of her suitor, Shingo Watase. (Although 'worn out' might have been a better description.) What the bisexual dominatrix really wanted was someone who was fiesty, intriguing, intelligent, and alluring - someone who was exactly like the lovely girl whom she had passionately lusted after all through her high school years: Iori Nagase. But after graduation Fujishima could never find anyone as good as her. Iori Nagase was unique.

But now those two lunkheads had dropped that poor girl right into her lap - a girl who was now imprisoned, wounded, scared, vulnerable, and who desperately needed her help. Yes, she would have her.

Fujishima knew that she would need to be cautious while she acted as Iori's attorney, as the Board of Ethics had clear rules regarding inappropriate client/attorney relationships.

But after the charges were dropped? When she was no longer Iori's attorney?

She smiled again as she considered her plan. It was exquisite.

Iori would be hers.

And the best part of it?

She would have no choice.

* * *

**A/N:**

* The rescue and adoption of an abandonded pet from an animal shelter, a common occurrence in the West, is rare in Japan. Abandoned animals are usually quickly euthanized. This is because pedigrees in Japan are considered important, and people generally only want pets that have a documented pedigree from a reputable store or from an established breeder.

* * *

**A/N Update (2014/09/28):**

Per the notes in the previous chapters, this is the first story I have written where I did not completely plot it out in advance. I had written the last lines of the story right at the start but I had no idea how I was going to get there. After I wrote chapter 9 the full story started to gel in my mind, and I finally came up with a strong ending sequence (always important). In hindsight I'm glad that I wrote it this way, as it helped me to internalize the characters and get them firmly ensconced in my head. (As an author I am pretty handy with writing plots, but I sometimes struggle with characterization. One of the reasons I wrote this story was to improve my skills in that area.)

Iori's character was particularly tricky for me to write because she's so layered and complex. The reason she seems so mysterious in the first act was because I didn't know how to handle her yet. But after writing 50,000+ words I think I am finally drawing a bead on her underlying drives and motivations (it's subtle but it's there in canon). I brought out some of it in chapter 11 and other aspects will develop later in the story.

Anyway, the story is now fully fleshed out. I hope you'll like it.

-HuuskerDu


	14. The Master Thespian

**Chapter 14: The Master Thespian**

_Thursday, 4:55AM, Hokke Nihonbashi Salaryman Hotel_

Inaba was dreaming.

She was flying.

She was soaring high in the sky like a bird. Alongside her were Taichi, Yui, Aoki, and Iori. They were all wearing their old school uniforms from Yamaboshi Academy. They soared far above the city, circling higher and higher as they shouted with joy. The quintet wheeled and turned like a flock of eagles in the bright sunlight.

Inaba was thrilled and exhilarated by the experience. But she was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the group. She faltered a bit. The others turned to watch her. Iori was holding her hand to help keep her aloft.

Iori smiled at her. And then..

Iori let go.

Inaba promptly fell right out of the sky*. As she plummeted to earth she looked up and saw the quartet ascend out of sight, as if they were flying right up into heaven itself.

Meanwhile she was plunging down towards the cityscape that was rushing at her from below.

_Gasp!_

Inaba awoke with a start. She sat up quickly in her bed. And in doing so she smartly bonked her head.

"Ouch!"

It was because she had whacked her head on the low ceiling of the capsule. Her hotel room was basically a coffin, a tiny tube in a salaryman hotel. Row upon row of single beds were stacked like cordwood along the hallway.

She gently rubbed the bump that was slowly forming on her head. The dream seemed so real. The imagery was already fading but she could still remember the feel of the wind in her face and hear the laughter of her friends. It really felt to her like she was actually flying in the air.

But then Iori released her hand and she fell to earth.

_Why did Iori let me go?_

She laid back down again in her capsule. She decided against trying to psychoanalyze the dream because she knew she'd never get back to sleep that way. She had to get at least two more hours of sleep minimum to be properly rested for the morning job interview with Nomura Holdings, Japan's biggest securities firm.

Inaba closed her eyes again. Soon she fell back into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

_Thursday, 7:30AM, Hokke Nihonbashi Salaryman Hotel, bath_

Inaba leaned back in the _sentō_ to try to relax. She had already eaten her breakfast: ramen noodles in a paper cup with hot water that was dispensed from a vending machine. She had eaten them slowly and was able to keep them down.

She knew she had about 30 minutes before she needed to get ready for the next job interview with Nomura Holdings. So she tried to soak away her troubles in the women's _sentō_. She sat alone in the shallow pool.

She could hear several men talking on the other side of the partition. The men's side was crowded, which was typical in a tube hotel during the workweek. In the past such facilities were always 100% men-only, designed for the hard-working hard-drinking _salaryman_ on business travel.

During the past decade many of the larger tube hotels in the bigger cities had added a segregated women's section. It was typically smaller but slightly better furnished. All of them had a lavatory, but the better ones - like this one - also included a basic but serviceable public bath. Again segregated of course, and with the women's side smaller. And the baths were better equipped too. Inaba doubted that the shampoos that the hotel provided on the men's side were scented like hers.

With a white towel wrapped around her shampooed head, she leaned back further in the small pool with her eyes still closed. She then lightly touched her naked stomach under the warm waters. Nothing was showing yet. She figured that she had maybe four or five more weeks before she would be forced to make a decision.

In the meantime she had decided to simply plunge ahead with her life. She would go to her job interviews as if nothing had happened. Partly it was to distract herself from brooding overly much about her dilemma, and partly it was a rationalization - that if she bombed her remaining job interviews as badly as her first then the decision would be easy: she would come clean with Taichi and confess her condition. Then she would resign herself to a life as a homemaker and a mother. She would have no regrets, as she would have tried her best to fulfill her father's wish to be his worthy successor. Tried and failed. The series of negative job interviews would be proof positive both to herself and to her father that she was simply not up to the task. No regrets, then.

But what of Rina? She opened her eyes and stared up at the fake plastic bamboo ceiling as she clutched her stomach more tightly. _That bitch will never have my firstborn child._ No, the price was too high. She knew that eventually Rina would come knocking on her door to collect on her debt.

Inaba had never imagined that Rina would ask for something like that. Her firstborn child? How cliché. It seemed like something that belonged in a bad fairy tale or something.

Wait.. A fairy tale?

Something tickled in the back of her mind. She tried to recall an old folk story that she had read in her Western Lit class. It was called.. what was it again.. Roompelstouskaru, or something like that? It was a tale about an ugly little man with a strange name who made a bargain and demanded the firstborn child of a young maiden. Perhaps there was a clue there..

She tried to remember how that old western folk tale went. She knew the story had a happy ending where the girl had defeated the evil baby-snatcher somehow. But how did she do it? Could that story contain a hint about how to defeat Rina as well?

She turned around and grabbed her sponge bag that was laying on the edge of the pool. She pulled out her smartphone and turned it on. The search engine corrected her bad spelling: Rumpelstiltskin. She clicked on a link to a website for public-domain works. Then she looked up the story of Rumpelstiltskin in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Her English was good enough that she could read it without translation:

_Once upon a time there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he had to go and speak to the king, and in order to make himself appear important he said to him, "I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold."_

_The king believed the miller's boast and put the girl to task overnight to spin straw into gold for him, on pain of death. He locked her away until she did so. Then a strange man appeared and offered to spin the wheel himself to create the gold in exchange for her firstborn child, and she agreed. And the miracle was done. The straw was turned into gold._

_Her life was spared. And so the king married the pretty miller's daughter and she became a queen._

_A year after, she brought a beautiful child into the world, and she never gave a thought to the little man. But one night he came into her room, and said, "Now give me what you promised."_

_The queen was horror-struck, and offered the little man all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. But the little man said, "No, something alive is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world."_

_Then the queen began to lament and cry, so that the little man pitied her. "I will give you three days time," he said, "and if by that time you find out my name, then shall you keep your child."_

Inaba keep reading the story. Eventually one of the queen's woodland agents had secretly discovered the little man's home in the woods. He overheard the little man dancing and singing. He was singing a song.

_"To-day I bake, to-morrow brew,_

_the next I'll have the young queen's child._

_Ha, glad am I that no one knew_

_that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled!"_

And so on the third day the queen confronted Rumpelstiltskin and spoke his name to him. His reaction was violent.

_"The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that!" cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two._

Inaba closed the browser window and sighed. She rather doubted that Rina would do a wishbone and tear herself in half like that, no matter how angry she got.

And as the story indicated, all the riches in the world would likely not pay off the debt as a substitute. No, she believed that the story of Rumpelstiltskin would be of no help.

And so she re-closed her eyes and tried to relax again in the warm water for the remaining minutes until her smartphone alarm chimed.

She then dried herself off and began to dress herself in front of her locker. Her interview outfit was now clean of vomit; she had washed it the night before using the hotel's automated laundromat. She did not bother to press it as no ironing was necessary. It was why she had originally picked out the 50% polyester/cotton blend - to avoid showing wrinkles after a long day at the office. She rechecked the bus directions on her smartphone to go to Nomura Holdings.

Nomura was Japan's largest investment firm. It was expanding rapidly due to the new economic-stimulus policies of Prime Minster Shinzo Abe in an attempt to end the country's 15-year downward deflationary spiral. Armed with its newfound capital from the government's new spending program, Nomura Holdings was now aggressively recruiting new financial analysts.

These analysts were nicknamed 'quants' because of their in-depth training in quantitative analytical economic theory. Now, there were only a small handful of quants worldwide who had both the theoretical knowledge and also the intuitive skill to make them exceptional market traders. They had some kind of undefinable quality about them - call it raw instinct or guts - to somehow always know when to make the right trades at the right times. Using their exceptional gifts these quants could, by executing a series of complex transactions at just the right moment, earn a large investment bank a billion or more yen in a single week of trading.

On Wall Street these exceptional analysts were called the 'Masters of the Universe'. The biggest Wall Street firms and international investment banks were paying incredible sums to recruit these traders by poaching them away from other big investment banks. And thanks to its newfound capital, Nomura was entering the poaching game as well.

Now, Inaba believed that her skills as a financial analyst were nowhere near that level. First of all, she had no previous job experience whatsoever. She only watched her father's quants working at their computer desks. When she was a teenager some of the traders kindly took her under their wing. They let her sit side-by-side at their computer desks as they executed their trades, explaining their thought processes as they went.

Second, Inaba had never executed a market trade on a computer herself. Oh, she knew to do it of course. She knew her father's computer systems backward and forward, having first hacked into those servers back when she was only 14. As a teenager she had roamed those internal corporate networks far and wide, being careful never to touch anything nor to leave any traces behind. She had made personal copies of certain files that caught her attention, such as internal financial modeling spreadsheets, grabbing interesting ones with complex models and equations. Those spreadsheets contained valuable and carefully hidden algorithms that were never published in any academic economics paper or journal.

Third, she believed she could never be a 'Master of the Universe' simply because she felt that she didn't have the guts to make those kind of big speculative plays. Being a Master was a high-wire act, and she believed she could never be that fearless. Some of that reticence was of course due to her longstanding doubts about herself, her basic insecurity. But there was also a second very good reason: she knew precisely how risky it all really was.

For you see, there was one major downside to a person becoming a Master of the Universe: Just one of them could destroy an entire investment firm overnight.

It had happened before. In 1995, a single trader named Nick Leeson was sitting at a computer desk in Singapore. He had single-handedly destroyed Barings Bank, the well-respected major British investment bank that had existed for well over 200 years.

After the Kobe earthquake of 1995 (the _Hanshin Awaji daishinsai_ ), Leeson had executed several futures contracts on the Nikkei stock exchange on behalf of Barings on speculation that there would be a rapid economic recovery in Japan after the great earthquake. There wasn't. To compound the problem Leeson was hiding his bad trades from his bosses in London. And in the aftermath the bank had completely collapsed. Tens of thousands of employees were thrown out of work.

Inaba knew all about that disaster and others like it. She felt she could never take those kinds of risks herself. She could never live down the thought of being personally responsible for the destruction of a major bank and the layoff of thousands of employees and the effect on their families. She shuddered. She could never hurt her father like that, to ruin everything he had worked so hard to build.

And yet she recalled that her father had taught her quite the opposite: that she had to be strong, to be daring, to be willing to take those risks when necessary. He told her that she should take those risks with adequate care and due diligence of course, but a successful businessperson must always be prepared to be daring, to take big risks, even the biggest, in order to survive. He told her that being overly cautious could be just as fatal to a business as being too reckless.

That was why her father felt that having good business instincts was so critically important. And he told her that he believed that she had those instincts, unlike her brother, and that those instincts would make her a worthy and fine successor to run his empire.

But she herself had doubts.

She continued to dress herself for the job interview. As she looked in the mirror, she resolved to not be so nervous this time around.

_Just relax. What's the worst that can happen? Let's say I flub this interview. Let's say I flub all of them. No biggie. I just tell Father that I did my best. I'm just not cut out for being a businesswoman. And then I tell him 'Oh by the way I'm pregnant'._ _That will still make him happy._ _And Taichi will be absolutely ecstatic. He'll be such a great dad. Maybe one day one of our children will grow up and become Father's worthy successor instead of me. Who knows?_

_So chill. The only real problem is Rina. I'll deal with her somehow. I'll go to Taichi if I have to, to Iori, to everybody, and I'll explain everything to them. Together we will find a way to stop her. Heck, I'll even go to Heartseed if I have to. So just mellow out._

She finished getting dressed. She looked at herself in the mirror. _I'm ready._ She left the hotel for the bus stop to go to the next job interview.

* * *

_Thursday, 10:50AM, JRCS Regional Headquarters_

Kurosawa was working intently at his desktop computer on a Gantt chart. His brow was furrowed in concentration.

Originally invented by Henry Gantt in the 1910s, a Gantt chart is a mathematical model for representing large complex project schedules and their interdependencies. Within the model he was building, Kurosawa was scowling at a bottleneck that he had spotted for the allocation of resources in the JRCS Master Contingency Plan for L4 earthquake preparedness: the governmental approval for the receipt of international emergency relief aid.

It was a problem in previous major disasters. This included the great Kobe earthquake in 1995, where political delays within Japan's government had prevented the timely acceptance of the United States' offer to send search and rescue (S&R) teams with trained sniffer dogs into the collapsed rubble to help quickly find and dig out the buried survivors. Critics pointed out that the political delays had caused several unnecessary deaths due to dehydration and exposure as victims waited a week or more to be rescued.

The government regulations were streamlined after that unfortunate incident. But Kurosawa felt they could be sped up even more. His idea was simple: arrange for the proper bureaucratic preapprovals to be given _ahead_ of time, before the disaster happens.

This was the secret behind Kurosawa's rising reputation as a key manager in handling major natural disasters: his penchant for pre-planning. In his view the best way to deal with a major disaster was to prepare as much as possible for it beforehand. After all, such disasters are to be expected. They were inevitable. It was merely a question of when, not if, the next one would happen.

He finished typing up his recommendation memo for sending to the main headquarters. He knew his memo might be ignored, so if sending it up the proper chain of command didn't work, he already had contingencies. He could use his contacts within the Diet and in the Ministry of the Interior if needed. They could get the ball rolling for him. Many of them had owed him favors. Indeed, some of them had family members who owed their lives to him from previous disasters.

He sat back from the computer screen and rubbed his face. He was tired. To rest his eyes he looked out the window and gazed at the city skyline for a few minutes.

He saw some children playing in the park below. They were holding hands and dancing in a circle. Playing ring-around-the-rosy perhaps. While watching them scamper about he started to daydream about his own childhood.

It brought back to him memories of when he was nine years old. He was attending the private Christian school where his mother had enrolled him. She couldn't afford the tuition, of course, being a poor single mother with a son from an anonymous American soldier, living in disgrace. But she managed to get him admitted to the school as a charity case.

Kurosawa remembered a teacher playing a tune on the piano. He could no longer recall the melody, but he remembered his happiness in listening to that song. He had danced with joy as she played.

Afterwards during recess the other boys surrounded him on the playground.

"Hey _gaijin_! You dance pretty good!"

Another boy smirked, "Of course he does. His father was a _saru_. Ain't that right?"

Kurosawa just stood there.

"Everybody says you're a _saru no musuko_.**"

Again silence.

"Hey! You listening?" Then one of the boys pushed him. Then another, and another.

And so the beatings began.

They happened almost every day.

That didn't bother the young Kurosawa. After all, he knew the reason was that he was simply born that way. It wasn't his fault. His mother told him that some people were just destined to suffer. It was his lot in life.

The teachers ignored the bullying. Part of the reason was that he never complained about it, and so most of them simply never caught on. But some must have. In hindsight he realized they had to. But they ignored it too. It was only later that he realized it was because none of them liked him any more than the other children did.

Now, they didn't all hate him because of his slightly darker skin color, although some certainly had. What really put his teachers off was not his looks but rather his attitude.

For you see, Kurosawa was a perfect student. And he followed the rules perfectly.

And everyone hated him for it.

He had powers of observation and deduction like Sherlock Holmes, so he'd spot hidden misdeeds and report them to the teachers. He spotted everything the other children did. Then he'd spot things the teachers were doing and report them to the principal as well. This included a secret love affair that absolutely no one else knew about. He pieced it together from the most subtle of clues: an odd repeated coincidence in arrival times and departure times, a smudge of lipstick on a collar. It caused two teachers (both with spouses) to eventually be dismissed.

And so the other kids absolutely hated him and bullied him. In return he acted like a martyr and never defended himself. Nor did he report it.

Why? It was because it made him feel superior.

Superior to everyone.

He was the bastard child of an American soldier, a child who had done nothing wrong except for the crime of merely existing. His mother had explained to him that he would be hated and reviled by everyone for the rest of his life. She said that the only other persons in the entire world that would ever love him would be herself and Jesus.

And so he allowed himself to be bullied. And in his growing martyr complex he began to believe that it made him morally superior to everyone around him, to everyone in the world.

One day the other boys put a bag over his head before they began to punch him. They did it even though they knew he never fought back anyway. They yelled "Guess who hit you!"

And Kurosawa not only allowed it to happen, he revelled in it. For he knew very well the story of Jesus during the Passion, where He allowed his Roman guards to beat Him in exactly the same way while blindfolded. They taunted, "Guess who hit you!" And Jesus never fought back either.

And so Kurosawa fancied in his mind that he was just like Jesus.

By the time Kurosawa entered sixth grade most of the other boys had tired of using him as a punching bag, and they had moved on to other, more satisfying, targets.

But one kid was still a real problem. A super bully.

He was becoming vicious, crossing into outright molestation. Kurosawa still never reported it. The Vice Principal finally got wind of what might be going on from a teacher. There was no proof, as Kurosawa denied it all, but the VP did not believe him. Then he took Kurosawa quietly aside and told him that it was okay if he fought back, and that the VP would not punish him if he did.

Then it happened. It only happened once.

One day the bully was attacking Kurosawa as usual. Now, this kind of bullying had been going on for years, and Kurosawa had finally felt that proof of his martyrdom wasn't really needed anymore. Besides, the VP told him it was okay.

So he took aim and nailed him, just one act. It sent the bully to the floor.

It sent him to the hospital.

It was the only time in Kurosawa's entire life that he ever assaulted anyone in anger.

The VP was mortified. Terrified he would lose his job. Kurosawa told him he wouldn't say anything.

The VP then gave him a permanent hall pass so that Kurosawa had the right to go anywhere he wanted. He often took the opportunity to skip class. Usually he hung out in the library, where he dived into the world of books.

After the incident something strange happened. The super bully became one of his very few friends. They confessed to each other in private about the abuse they were both suffering (his was at home).

During their private talks, Kurosawa finally learned what the other kids really thought of him. And for the first time Kurosawa saw himself from their point of view.

And it wasn't pretty.

Kurosawa finally saw himself for who he really was: a mean little boy who spotted everything and anything and tattled on everyone. It didn't matter that he was always honest. He finally saw that what he did was wrong. It was wrong because it was done out of his own smug sense of legalistic self-righteousness and moral superiority, all due to his unacknowledged hatred of his persecutors.

He finally realized that he had been hurting everyone around him, sometimes quite badly. Instead of his fists he had been using mouth as a brutal weapon against everyone he saw.

He stopped doing it. At first life seemed to get better.

But then, during that same summer, he and his mother were crossing a busy intersection when a bus made a turn in front of them..

Kurosawa lowered his eyes and stopped watching the children play below. He checked his wristwatch. He still had time to dash off the memo to headquarters before lunch.

Originally he was planning to meet with Taichi over the midday meal for another friendly chat, but the young recruit had politely passed his offer for that day. Taichi profusely apologized and said he looked forward to meeting for lunch any other day at his convenience. He explained his reason and asked for time off for the rest of the afternoon.

Kurosawa heard his explanation and granted the young man's request with a smile, asking him only to adjust his timecard.

He rechecked his appointment schedule for the remainder of the day. His private meeting with Keiso was scheduled for 1:30PM.

His wheelchair hummed as it left the room.

* * *

_Thursday, 2:00PM, Courthouse_

Taichi and Aoki were waiting in the public seating area of the courtroom. The prosecutor was already seated at his desk up front. He was a dour little man with thick eyeglasses wearing a black suit.

Then Taichi saw Iori and Fujishima enter the courtroom together.

Taichi eyes widened as he saw the pair walking up the aisle. Then he closed eyes and pinched his nose. _Oh man.._

It was because Iori looked like a frightened and bewildered rabbit. She tightly clutched the hem of Fujishima's wool jacket as she blinked her eyes repeatedly.

It was obvious to Taichi that Iori had carefully planned everything out with Fujishima.

The bailiff stood up. "All rise!" Everyone did.

The judge entered the courtroom from the side entrance and sat down.

And so the performance began.

It was masterful. Taichi had to bite his lip to suppress a grin.

Fujishina gently patted her client as she quietly consoled the frightened girl, "There, there, my dear. You are safe now. Just sit down. It's okay. Just sit down right here."

Iori hesitated, then sat down quickly and began to rock back and forth.

Fujishima consoled the poor girl. "It's all right. I'll make sure you are protected. No one will hurt you anymore. The bad man is gone."

"Are.. are you.. sure?"

"Yes, I promise you're safe. The bad man cannot hurt you anymore."

"Okay.."

And the judge, of course, missed none of this. Iori was already spinning her magic web over him.

And the hearing had not even begun.

* * *

The bail hearing was nearing its end.

Fujishima was addressing the court with her final remarks. "And so, your honor, it is plain to see how Goru Yamazaki had brutalized and mentally traumatized this poor woman beyond all reason with his unspeakable acts. And so I respectfully request that.."

The judge raised his hand to interrupt. "Counselor, thank you. I think that is sufficient. You have more than adequately made your case for your client." He looked at the prosecutor. "Do you agree?"

The little man stood up. He said, "Yes, your honor. The Prosecutors Office*** moves to drop all charges."

Taichi quietly put his hand on Aoki's knee. In doing so he successfully suppressed the large man's impending whoop for joy.

Then the judge leaned forward and said quietly. "But, counselor, I am still concerned for your client's well being."

Fujishima replied, "I agree. That is why I would like to respectfully petition the court to classify my client as a vulnerable adult and to temporarily assign me as her guardian."

It was subtle, but Taichi could see it. Iori's facial expression was frozen. That part wasn't in the script. Something was wrong.

To her credit, Iori recovered quickly and stayed in character. She said in a quavering voice to Fujishima, "You want to be my.. my guardian?"

The judge nodded. "Ah, I see. Counselor, I think that is an excellent suggestion. Of course the Court will need to first see the necessary psychological test results before we can classify your client as a vulnerable adult. That is unless, of course, she agrees to be placed under your guardianship right now. Do you, young lady?"

Iori realized what was happening. Fujishima had cleverly boxed her in. If she underwent psychological testing they might figure out her deception. Maybe she could fool the shrinks, but she didn't want to chance it. Besides, she felt she could handle Fujishima. And so she nervously scrunched up Fujishima's coat in her hands, nearly pulling the jacker right off her shoulders. She said, "Yes.. yes.. I do. I do. Oh thank you, Fujishima-sama, thank you!"

The judge looked at the prosecutor, who simply replied "No objections, your honor."

The judge looked at all of them. "Very well. It is so ordered. The charges are dropped. Counselor, you are now her guardian. Case dismissed." He rapped his gavel.

Fujishima bowed, "Thank you, your honor."

The judge then smiled and said, "Well, well, it is rare for me to see a such happy ending like this." As he stood up to leave the courtroom the judge added, "I have to say, counselor, this is very commendable of you. Your giving so much of yourself to your clients like this is quite laudable. I wish that more attorneys in my courtroom were like you."

Another deep bow. "You are too kind, your honor."

"And I've heard so many good things about you from your father." It was because the judge and the police commissioner often played golf together. "I very much look forward to seeing you in my courtroom in the future."

"As do I you, your honor. Thank you so much for your kind words." Her eyeglasses glinted.

"Good day." The judge left.

Fujishima gently escorted the traumatized girl out the emptying courtroom, followed by Taichi and Aoki.

In the hallway Taichi whispered to Fujishima, "So.. did Goru actually do all those awful things to Iori that you said he did?"

Fujishima shrugged, "Who cares? You can't slander the dead."

"Oh, I see."

They were finally outside the courthouse. When they had turned the corner to the next street Iori dropped her frightened-rabbit act. She crossed her arms and said matter-of-factly to her attorney, "Now, Fujishima, your grabbing guardianship so you could lord over me was not part of the plan."

Her attorney chuckled, "Sorry for the improvisation. It simply hit me as I was making your case," she lied. "I needed it to seal the deal. I figured you'd agree. And it worked - charges dropped. And this way they won't hit you with any awkward psych tests."

Iori muttered, "I coulda beaten those shrink tests.."

"Maybe so, maybe not. Those psychological examinations have become rather sophisticated lately, you know. They are especially adroit at detecting deception. Now the court won't ask for them, so this way you don't have to concern yourself about beating them, see?"

"I suppose. But, c'mon, you're my _guardian_ for crying out loud?"

Fujishima chuckled, "Don't worry, it's not like I would make you my slave or anything like that."

Iori deadpanned, "Of course not. You did what you had to. I understand."

Fujishima hugged her shoulder. "I'm glad you do, my lovely dear. All I ask is that you come to my home and let me prepare you a delightful meal tonight. I'm a bit of a gourmet chef, you know. That food in the detention center is just awful."

"So, you are inviting me for dinner?"

"Yes, so we can discuss the case, of course."

"Oh, of course."

Taichi spoke up. "I better come too, then."

Fujishima turned to face him, "Sorry, Yaegashi. Attorney-client privilege. I have to meet with my client in private."

"Ah, I understand." Then he leaned over and whispered to Iori, "You okay with this?"

She whispered back, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to it."

Taichi understood implicitly. Iori was planning to hit Fujushima with a full-on snowjob, a full-court press. It would be tour-de-force of charming subterfuge and deception against a formidable and intelligent opponent, and one who ostensibly had the upper hand.

And it was a game that Iori very much wanted to play.

Taichi knew it would greatly amuse Iori. She would try to see just how how quickly the master thespian could spin Fujishima around.

And so all Taichi said was, "Well, goodbye Iori. You take care. Call me if you need anything."

She said earnestly, "Thank you, Taichi. Thank you for everything. Especially in the hospital. I mean it." Then Iori grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek. He yelped.

As she did so she took the opportunity to whisper into his ear, "Don't worry, I'm not staying. Keep a futon warm for me at the apartment."

As she pulled away Fujishima showed Taichi a small predatory smile that Iori could not see.

And then, with her back turned so Fujishima couldn't see her either, Iori gave him an even nastier predatory smile.

 _Yikes._ Taichi unconsciously stepped backwards away from both of them.

Taichi didn't need Heartseed's thought-transmission capability to read Iori's thoughts at that moment. _Game on!_

Then Fujishima locked her arm around Iori's and primly escorted her away. As they walked down the street together he heard Fujishima's voice trailing off in the distance, "Now Iori-chan, you simply must see my collection of de Goya paintings."

"Ooh, I'd love to! I want to become an artist myself someday."

"You do? Really? I didn't know that."

"Oh yes. I think that de Goya is such a wonderful painter. So strong."

"Yes, he is. So you know his work, then?"

"Oh of course I do. He's a master. Such boldness."

"Yes! I do so love de Goya's style. The paintings I own are only reproductions, of course, but I find his work to be so deliciously violent, so savage.." Their voices trailed off.

And so the thespian and the dominatrix walked into the setting sun together, arm-in-arm.

Taichi grinned at their receeding backs. He would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to watch Iori spin her web tonight. Iori's snowjob of the judge fascinated him, but that was childs play for Iori. Tonight would be different. It would be an epic contest, a true test of her skills against an intelligent and wary mark.

_Oh wow, I wish I could watch them. I bet it will be even better than watching a WWE Smackdown title fight._

He went home.

* * *

_Friday, 2:20AM, apartment_

Taichi awoke to the sound of repeated knocks on the apartment door. He put on his dressing gown and opened it.

It was Iori. She looked tired. "Hey.. can I come in?"

He noticed that she looked out of sorts. Her hair was mussed up a bit. Then he looked down her front and saw that the buttons on her blouse were misaligned.

He was alarmed. "Iori! You okay?"

She made a small smile, "I'm fine." Then she glanced down her front where his eyes were looking. "Oh, I see."

She started to rework her front buttons. "Don't worry, nothing happened. I mean.. well, not much happened, that is.. uh, well.."

Taichi crossed his arms and gave her a disappointed look like a father receiving a daughter who came home far beyond her curfew.

She put her hand on the back of her head and looked at him sheepishly. _Busted._ She tried to explain. "Look, I wasn't planning on letting her put a finger on me." Then she sighed, "So okay, yeah, I hadda, but only just a little. I admit it was kinda icky, but in the end it was soooo worth it. Heh, heh."

Taichi wasn't buying it. "Hmm. Worth it?"

She nodded quickly. "Oh definitely."

"Huh?"

Then she smiled at him. "Taichi, I won. I own her."

He gave up playing the fatherly role with her. "So, uh, congrats, I guess?"

She walked in. "Thanks. I knew you'd understand. Yeah, I flipped her."

"Oh.. that's great.."

"Man, she was tough. One of my toughest. I almost blew it when I biffed the fact that I actually didn't know anything about ancient Greek or Roman sculpture. But in the end I flipped her. All she wants in return are more deep intellectual discussions with me about art, history, or whatever. And I'm just a community college dropout! In a couple weeks I'll convince her to end the guardianship."

Taichi simply stared at her.

"I haven't had this much fun in ages!" Then she raised her arms in victory and loudly yelled, "Yahoo!"

Taichi quickly covered her mouth. He hissed at her, "Iori, be quiet. You'll wake up Aoki." He let go of her mouth.

She whispered back, "Sorry, I didn't know Aoki was here. For some reason I always like jumping up and yelling 'yahoo' whenever I'm excited, dunno why really." Then she asked, "Hey, where do I crash? I'm bushed."

Taichi escorted her to the main bedroom. She saw that it was empty. "Where is Dereban?"

"She's not here."

"Oh? Pity. I was looking forward to sharing some pillow-talk with her."

Taichi quickly explained the situation between himself and Inaba. Iori thought a moment. "I see. So Dereban is off on another walkabout. Figures. She's so predictable that way. Well, I guess I'll chat with her about things later. Right now I'm completely shot."

Then she smiled. "Hey, I'm shot. Get it?" She raised her bandaged left arm. "Get it? Shot? Ha ha!"

Taichi ignored her lame joke and simply asked if there was anything else she needed, but she simply waved him off with her good arm. She flopped on the futon without undressing. In seconds she was asleep. Taichi gently covered her with a blanket.

He then picked up his own pillow and another blanket and moved to the second bedroom to sleep with Aoki, who was snoring loudly.

While laying on his futon Taichi stared up at the ceiling. He began to wonder if he did the right thing by inviting Iori to stay with them.

He did it originally because he believed that he and Inaba could help Iori with her psychological hangups, whatever they were. Together, he thought, he and Inaba could find a way to steer Iori away from her self-destructive path and save her from herself.

But now he began to wonder just who it was that he had so blithely invited to stay with them. She was his first love, second only to his wife, and now she was sleeping literally a few feet away from him.

And she had just done a successful mindjob on someone that he knew was far smarter than he was.

If she could do that to Fujishima, what could she do to him?

 _She wouldn't do that to me._ And if she did? He was resolute. _I love Inaba now. And Inaba loves me. That's all there is to it._

He allowed himself to finally fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

* Inaba's fall from the sky happened during the second ending of Kokoro Connect (episodes 6-10). You can watch ED 2 in a short Vimeo video entitled [Kokoro Connect Ending 2](https://vimeo.com/98116697) (1:28) by Faiz Skyzo. The song played in ED 2 is entitled _Cry Out_.

** The English translation is "son of a monkey". Kurosawa is a light-skinned mulatto.

*** In Japan's system of justice, state prosecutors are attorneys within the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, which is under the administration of the Ministry of Justice.


	15. The Tiger and the Tease

**Chapter 15: The Tiger and the Tease**

_Thursday,_ _10:00AM_ _, Offices of Nomura Holdings_

Inaba was welcomed at the elevator by a thin man wearing a somber black suit. "You are Himeko Yaegashi?" She bowed.

He said, "Please wear this." The man gave her a plastic badge with the word _Bijitā_ [Visitor] written in large red katakana letters. The words _goei ni hitsuyou_ [escort required] were written in a smaller kanji script underneath it. She hooked the lanyard around her neck and let the badge hang down her front. The man then accompanied her across the trading floor towards the manager office in the back.

As they walked down the main walkway of the cubical farm, Inaba took the opportunity to discretely look at the computer screens that were visible on either side. Most of them were in use.

_Hmm. It looks like they are still running Orion-II. Pretty old._

Orion was the world standard for professional Trading Management Systems Software (TMSS). It was a complex software package with over a dozen different modules for the organizing, executing, tracking, and the profiling of various market trades of all kinds. The software modules were highly customizable and programmable. A quick glance at the taskbar on one of the computer screens told Inaba they were using only a small fraction of its potential capabilities. She herself had helped with the installation of the newer Orion-III system on her own father's servers a few months prior.

Inaba and her escort approached a large wooden door when it suddenly flew open. An older man with gray trufts of hair above his ears poked his head out into the room. He spotted Inaba's escort. "Sakuru, I need you right now."

"Sir?"

"That rumored leveraged buyout of Honshou Industries.."

Sakuru asked, "It's happening now?"

"Yes. It hit the newswires five minutes ago. We need to hurry."

Sakuru then turned and apologized to his guest, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yaegashi, there will be a delay before Mr. Nakamura can receive you for your interview. Please wait here. I'll fetch you as soon as I can."

Inaba bowed again, "That is quite all right, sir. I have no other plans for today. Please take your time."

"Thank you." He walked quickly into the manager's office. As door began to slowly close she heard Nakamura inside speaking quickly, "Wall Street has already purchased a half million shares at +2.5."

"You posted an SB to our staff?"

"Of course, but most of the spread is already gone." The door closed.

Inaba tsk-tsked. They should have prepared a cascade of triggers for preprogrammed buys with circuit breakers and set them up ahead of time with a 60-second go-nogo alert message-box. _Then they could just hit the button right when the buyout was announced. That's how Wall Street does it. Easy._

Meanwhile she waited. After a few minutes she started to get bored. She started to fidget a bit.

She began to look around at all the cubicles.

_I want another peek at their TMSS._

During her whole life she had never seen any trading systems except her father's own. She had gone crawling through those servers so many times she could move through them in her sleep. A big reason she wanted this job was to broaden her experience outside of her father's companies, to get new ideas, and to see new and different ways in how such businesses operated.

She discretely listened at the manager's door. From the sounds inside she could tell that Nakamura and Sakuru were having an animated discussion over a computer terminal. She knew they wouldn't be looking for her for a while.

She casually crossed her arms to hide the red 'Visitor' emblem on her badge. Then she began a leisurely stroll down the aisles of the cubical farm.

She saw nothing that piqued her interest. But it wasn't long before she heard a loud yell, 'Booyah!'.

She noticed a few traders look up from their screens with obvious signs of disapproval on their faces. One of them muttered, "G _aijin baka_ cowboy."

She turned towards the source of the yell and walked in that direction. At the far corner of the cubical farm she spied a set of four cubes that were rotated inward to create a single large space. And inside she saw six computer screens mounted in a 3x2 configuration. The other traders had only two. A tall man had his back turned to her. She heard the clicky-clack of very fast typing. She discretely stepped around to view the occupant in profile. The wall plate read, 'Steve Anderson / Senior Trader'.

He was a blond American, young and thin, with bright blue eyes. He was wearing light tan slacks that contrasted with the dark suits of the other traders. A brown sport coat was hanging on a hook. The top button of his shirt was undone and his tie was loose.

Inaba grinned. He could have easily passed for a standard-issue delinquent at any Japanese high school. And he looked young enough to be attending one.

The American was muttering to himself in English, "Hit 50.5, re-trade on counter, oops, dang it.." He pressed the backspace button a few times and re-entered the data. "There." He smacked the Enter key. After a few seconds the numbers changed. Then he did a fist pump. "Yes!"

Inaba was standing right behind him. She said dryly in English, "There is a better way to do that, you know."

The blond American sat up quickly in his chair. "Huh? What?" He looked up at her.

She leaned over him and started typing. "Do it like this instead."

Anderson said, "Hey, get away from my keyboard!"

She smiled, "Relax. I'm just setting it up for you."

"Setting up what?"

"A macro. Orion-II has macro capability. You can create a template for creating a sequence of arbitrarily nested interlocking trades with offsetting amounts. Type backslash at-sign in the macro box for the parameter substitution: stock symbols, amounts, percentages, or whatever, and it will replicate. It will save you a lot of typing."

"Wow, really?"

"Want me to show you an example?"

He looked up at her, "Yeah!"

"Okay, I'll just queue up a proforma trade sequence for you. Just a demo. Don't worry, I won't execute it. It just so happens that Honshou Industries received a leveraged buyout offer on the Nikkei a few minutes ago. It's too late to take advantage of the offer-vs-buy spread now, but you can get ready for the inevitable bounce when it overshoots. It always happens. So use the macro like this."

Her hands flew over the keyboard at high speed. "There. All set. All you have to do is hit the Enter button to execute it."

Anderson stared at his wall of computer monitors. He saw a fairly long list of of interlocking transactions ready to fire. But they were interconnected in a way that he had never seen before.

"What the hell did you just do?"

"I created what I call a 'futures reverse-short contract'. The first transaction sets up the delay, the second places a put on the underlying securities, and the third locks in the prices for the future short. See?"

He kept scanning the displays. "A 'futures reverse-short contract'? Lady, there is no such thing."

Inaba grinned, "Well, there is now. I wrote an undergrad paper on it in college."

"You mean you invented this all by yourself?"

"Yeah. It's only theoretical. That's why I set it up for a trivial amount, only 100,000 yen. That way the risk is negligible. Fire it off when the bounce happens in the stock price. Like I said, it's only a demo. Maybe I should reduce it to down 10,000..?"

He grabbed the keyboard back from her. "No.. don't change it. Just leave it exactly like that." He stared at the screens in rapt fascination. "Now explain to me the theory behind this."

"Well, it is pretty simple. It basically sets up a bet on a short that gets locked in with a variable time delay.."

As Inaba continued to explain, the man turned to look at her. He grinned.

 _This has got to be the only person in_ _Japan_ _who actually has the balls for doing real trading. And she's totally hot._

She stopped when she noticed he was staring at her. He excused himself. "Sorry, I am still terrible with Japanese customs."

He quickly stood up. He had an imposing height, perhaps 185 centimeters, six feet. He bowed deeply. "Permit me. My name is Steve Anderson from Lehman Brothers. Nomura signed me to a two year contract a couple weeks ago."

Instead of bowing back, Inaba decided to return his greeting American style. She simply held out her hand. "My name is Himeko Yaegashi. I am very pleased to meet you."

He shook the offered hand. As she shook his hand he said, "Yes, I'm delighted." He had a gleam in his eye. "Did you know that you are the first Japanese person who has actually physically touched me since I got here?"

She finally felt a twinge of embarrassment as she withdrew her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, thank you. That was nice. I'm still trying to deal with people, customs, formalities, and a language I barely understand. It's been a pain in the ass. I'm afraid I'm not doing it very well."

"Well, we Japanese can sometimes be rather guarded when dealing with outsiders."

"Tell me about it. Everyone around here treats me like I have leprosy or something."

She smiled. "Give it time and I'm sure you will fit in eventually."

"Thanks. You know, your English is rather good."

"I started learning it when I was 5. I don't get to practice it very often. I enjoy talking with you."

"Likewise." He hesitated, then he said, "Uhm, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you act just like an American. And this futures reverse contract idea of yours is pretty damn creative. You think outside the box, just like a real Wall Street trader does. You're the first person I've met here in Japan who is anything like that. I find it really refreshing."

Inaba began to blush. "Why, thank you."

_Wow, she's a beauty. And she's assertive and doesn't give a damn about those stupid Japanese social customs. I wonder if she gets ostracized by those jerks because of it. Bet she does. And she's completely at ease talking to a strange gaijin. Steve my boy, you found yourself a live one._

He looked down. "I know my Japanese is terrible."

"Keep practicing. Immersion is the best way to learn."

_Steve, it's time to make your move on this lovely creature._

He did not see a wedding band. It was because she had removed her ring just prior to the interview due to the prejudices in Japan about a married woman starting a career. But even if he did spot a ring it would not have deterred him.

He took a step closer and whispered almost conspiratorially, "Hey, can you help me with something? It's kind of personal.."

"Help you?"

"Yeah."

"With what?"

"This is going to sound embarrassing.."

"Go on."

"Do you know where I can find a decent hamburger in this town? I'm dying for a decent Kobe burger. I can get Kobe in New York City or Las Vegas, so you'd think I could find one in freaking Japan.."

Inaba didn't hesitate. "Go to Tsubame Grill. Three blocks from here. Real Kobe beef. But it's very, very expensive."

Anderson casually rotated the Rolex watch on his left wrist. The diamonds along the rim of the carapace sparkled under the lights. Inaba didn't miss the gesture. He said, "Money isn't a problem for me. I've been dying for a decent Kobe since I got here."

Then he smiled at her again. "Perhaps you could join me for lunch?"

That caught Inaba by surprise. _Wait, is he asking me out?_

Before Inaba could muster a response, they both heard a throat being cleared discretely behind them. They turned around together.

The throat-clearing sound came from Sakuru, the assistant manager. Mr. Nakamura was standing next to him.

Sakuru spoke up. "Ms. Yaegashi, may I please ask why you are standing in the middle of a restricted area without an escort?"

Huh? Anderson glanced at Inaba's badge. He saw that it was red. That meant she was not an employee; she was a visitor. Oops. He thought quickly.

He stepped forward and made an awkward bow to his bosses. "Err.. _Watashi ga shazai. Sore wa watashi no seidatta_..*"

Inaba whispered in his ear in English and he whispered back. She nodded. Then he raised his voice and he started speaking to Sakuru in English while she translated for him. "It was my fault, sir. I saw her standing on the trading floor and I introduced myself to her. I was giving her a tour of our operations."

Sakuru replied in Japanese, "I see." He then addressed Inaba, "Well then, I suppose there is no need to introduce you two."

Inaba was a bit confused. "Sir?"

"This is Steve Anderson. Surely you have heard of the name?"

Inaba replied, "No sir."

"Mr. Anderson earned almost 200 million dollars for Lehman last year."

Inaba stared in disbelief. Then she turned to face the blond man, who simply smiled back at her. This was a real live Master of the Universe. And there she was trying to teach _him_ new trading tricks!

She recalled that he had just mentioned that Nomura had signed him to a two year contract. They must have offered him an incredible sum to land him in Japan.

Anderson continued to smile.

_That's right, Himeko. The great looking guy who was just hitting on you has more money than Zeus._

Anderson waited for the expected inevitable reaction. After all, this dashing, handsome and incredibly wealthy young American had just basically asked her out on a date. He waited for the girl to become totally flustered.

And soon she would be another trophy to add to his collection.

_I'll have her bagged and tagged by the end of the weekend._

But the expected reaction didn't happen. Instead she replied matter-of-factly, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Anderson. Have a good day."

What? _Hey.. wait a minute.._

She left for the manager's office with Nakamura and Sakuru. Anderson was left alone standing there dumbfounded. He earned better than $10,000 an hour and she reacted like she couldn't care less.

_What the hell? Steve, you just got shot down!_

The only thing that seemed to interest her was the trading itself. He shook his head.

He plopped back in his seat and stared at the screen.

Hmm. He began to try to work out in his mind the subtle interplay of the contracts that she had just set up for him. After a few minutes he gave up trying to figure them out.

Then he spotted something else. The stock price for Honshou Industries had reached a peak and was finally starting to fall. This was the 'overshoot' that Inaba had predicted would happen. If he was going to run her mysterious trade sequence, Anderson knew that he had to execute it within the next sixty seconds.

He continued to study the screen.

Then he opened the macro box and typed in an extra zero and closed the box.

His hand hovered over the Enter key. More seconds ticked by.

He re-opened the box and typed in another zero. His hand hovered over the Enter key again.

And then he typed in one more zero.

Finally he pressed the Enter key.

Then he took out a small flask from his desk. He unscrewed it and took a swig of whiskey as he watched the numbers on the screens unfold.

* * *

Inaba was cursing loudly in the elevator. As soon as she spotted the stack of 50 résumés on Nakamura's desk, she knew the odds were going to be against her. Her college credentials were impeccable, but she had no job experience. And the way that Nakamura had perfunctorily ended the interview had made it obvious to her that she wasn't going to be hired.

She sat at the bus stop. She was in a foul mood.

Then her cell phone chimed. She didn't recognize the caller ID number.

"Hello?"

It was Anderson. " _Moshimoshi_ , Himeko-san!"

Inaba rolled her eyes.

_Oh this is great. It's Mister I'm-Totally-Irresistible again._

Inaba was tired of playing games. She asked him in English, "How did you get this number?"

"Sorry. I snuck in to Nakamura's office to get a peek at your application. I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yeah, on that reverse contract."

She scowled at her cellphone. "Look, Mr. Anderson, I am sorry but I do not think Nomura is hiring me or anyone else with less than 5 years experience. So you and I are not going to be colleagues. So no lunch date, sorry."

"Himeko, please wait. Don't hang up on me yet."

She was testy. "Why not?"

"I just cleared around 100 million yen on that contract you set up."

Inaba's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah. You're good, Himeko. Damn good."

"But that contract was for only 100 thousand!"

"Well, heh, I added a few extra zeros. I took a gamble on you. And it worked. _Arrigato, Himeko-san._ "

Inaba was speechless.

"Himeko, I really do owe you a lunch."

She was resolute. "Forget it. All I was interested in was getting that job. And for the record, flashing your fancy Rolex watch in my face does not impress me."

"I realize that now, and I'm sorry about that. Please, just hear me out."

She said slowly, "I'm listening."

He explained the outline of his proposition to Inaba. He was indeed offering something that she genuinely wanted.

"So, does that sound good to you? Can we meet at Tsubame Grill for lunch so I can give you the rest of the details?"

She thought about Anderson's proposition for a minute. It was now obvious to her that until she gained some real-world experience in doing real financial trading that she wasn't going to get her foot in the door anywhere. What Anderson was proposing would give her that requisite experience. And she knew it would look very good on her résumé, although it would seem a bit unorthodox. Still, she knew that receiving a referral from a Wall Street Master would carry tremendous weight in the financial community.

She sighed, "I suppose I can hear out the rest of your proposal."

"Great!"

Then she quickly added, "And if I do agree, I want it in writing."

"Certainly."

"And Steve, just so we understand each other, I am happily married."

He didn't hesitate. "I understand. This is just strictly a business proposition."

"That's right. It is. As long as we make that perfectly clear."

"Of course."

"All right then. See you there."

Anderson closed his cellphone and leaned back in his chair.

So. He had guessed her motives correctly.

Then he started to grin. For you see, throughout his young adult life he had always managed to get whatever he wanted. Either through skill, or deceit, or both. And he never failed.

And now he very much wanted the alluring and exotic Asian tiger. She was intelligent, attractive, fiery, and dangerous. He was an adrenalin junkie, and the challenge that she presented him was irresistible: the chance to try to seduce a smart and beautiful married woman in a foreign country.

_Himeko, you beautiful tiger. I'm going to tame you. Own you._

_And I always win._

* * *

_Friday, 6:50AM, Yaegashi apartment_

Taichi was already awake and had just stepped out of the shower. He toweled himself off and put on his dressing gown. As he exited the bathroom he heard a loud squawk from another room.

He wasn't able to discern the direction of the noise. He entered the small connecting hallway. He checked the main bedroom where he had tucked in Iori last night.

The bedroom was empty.

On a hunch he checked the second bedroom.

Aoki was sitting bolt upright in bed staring at his unexpected sleeping partner. He had his blanket completely wrapped around him like a shield.

Iori was wearing nothing but a nightshirt. From their positions Taichi could see that she must have been positioned behind him with her arm wrapped around him like a body pillow when he awoke.

Iori sat up herself and yawned. "You don't have to shout so loud.."

Aoki stammered, "W-What are you doing in my bed?"

"Hey, I was cold."

Aoki turned to Taichi. "Taichi! Help me!"

Taichi gave Iori a stern look. He crooked his finger towards himself. She took the hint and got up and meekly entered the hallway with him, but not before she had grabbed Aoki's blanket and wrapped it around herself to keep warm. In response Aoki dived under the bed. Meanwhile Iori wrapped the blanket even tighter and muttered, "This apartment is like an icebox.."

Taichi wasn't happy. "Iori, what the heck were you doing with Aoki in there?"

She looked annoyed. "Hey, I woke up freezing my ass off. You were already getting showered. Aoki gives off heat like a radiator, so I tried to warm myself up before I froze to death."

Taichi gently but firmly escorted the entoweled girl back to her bedroom. He was frowning. "Iori.."

"Oh, c'mon, Taichi. It's no big deal. Besides, messing with Aoki is harmless fun. You know I don't mean anything by it."

He closed the bedroom door behind them and crossed him arms. He kept his voice low. "Harmless fun for you maybe, but not for him. You can't toy with Aoki's feelings like that. You did the same thing to him at the restaurant. He's not mature enough to handle it, so stop it."

"Not mature enough? We're both the same age."

He growled, "Well he isn't ready for it, so knock it off."

Iori gave him a small mischievious grin, "Aw c'mon, it was just some harmless fun. I can't help myself."

Taichi got closer and his eyes were stern. "No."

"But it was only.."

He interrupted her. "No. No means no. If you can't control yourself, if you absolutely feel compelled to flirt around with somebody, then play your silly teasing games with me, not with him."

That got Iori's attention. "What? With you? But I can't.."

"You heard me. He can't handle it. If you have to mess around then mess around with me instead."

Now it was Iori's turn to look embarrassed. "I.. I can't tease you like that. You know that. It wouldn't be right."

And so Taichi drove the point home. "Exactly. If you can't do it with me, then don't do it with him. End of discussion."

Iori looked down. "I understand. I'm sorry."

"Apologize to him, not me."

She meekly nodded.

Then he added, "Go get dressed first. I'll make breakfast."

She shook her head. "No, after I apologize I'll make the breakfast. It's the least I can do."

"All right."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Iori, Aoki, and Taichi were seated around a low table eating a modest breakfast of rice omelettes that Iori had whipped up in the kitchenette. The omelettes were quite tasty. Taichi had to admit that Iori was a good cook. This was not surprising, as she had many years of experience making meals for her mother and step-fathers when she was quite young.

During the meal the three of them started gabbing. Taichi had about 15 minutes before he had to leave for work.

Iori asked, "So how is Kiriyama doing?"

Taichi put down his napkin and said, "Really good. I chatted with her on the phone yesterday."

That phone call was awkward. It was because Aoki was still under a strict court order that prevented any contact with Yui. Aoki pressed his ear next to Taichi's and listened as he spoke with Yui on his cell. He had clutched Taichi's shoulder in a vice grip. When Aoki heard her tinny voice coming out of the earpiece his eyes lit up like sparklers. He got so excited that Taichi was afraid his shoulder would be dislocated.

Yui had asked Taichi if Aoki was present. Taichi replied that he was. She asked him to pass along a message, that she was thinking of Aoki every day. Then Aoki had Taichi pass back his own message, that he would love her forever. And so the trio basically played a game of telephone tag with Taichi acting as the middleman. Taichi grew increasingly uncomfortable as he forwarded their innocent little mash notes back and forth like a pair of high schoolers in a classroom hiding them from the teacher.

Taichi explained to Iori, "The hospital transferred Yui to a rehab facility on Suragawa Street." He gave Iori the address. "She's got at least four to six months of intensive rehab ahead of her, maybe longer. It will depend on how hard she works at it."

Aoki said, "She can do it. She's a fighter."

Iori replied, "Yeah. I'll go see her today. Give her some support."

"I only wish I could go with you."

She tried to cheer Aoki up. "Fujishima will have that restraining order removed in no time flat. Then you'll be able to see her all you want."

"Yeah.."

"And when Fujishima gets your criminal record cleared I am sure that you'll have no trouble getting a job."

"Thanks. I hate sitting doing nothing in the meantime."

"Just be patient. Everything will be fine."

Aoki sighed and resumed staring at the wall with his chin on the table.

Iori cleared the dishes from the meal. Taichi jumped up to help. Then she returned and sat back down with him again. The two men propped up their chins with their hands. They both looked morose. She understood.

Iori turned to Taichi, "And how is Dereban?"

"Inaba wants to go with me to have dinner at her father's house tonight so she can apologize to him about the wedding."

"But she's still on her walkabout.."

Taichi sighed, "I don't know what's going on with her. I don't even know if she's returning home tonight afterwards or not."

"I see." Iori began to think. "You know, something is odd."

"Hmm?"

"She should be here with us. I could have sworn that you two kissed and made up at the hotel."

Taichi said simply, "We did. The fight's over."

"Then why is she still running away? Something's not right."

"Like what?"

"Dunno yet." She thought some more. "Taichi, do you mind if I double-check a few facts with you?"

"Sure, go ahead. Ask me anything you want."

"I just want to confirm, did Inaban do the whole kiss-and-make-up thing with you at the hotel?"

"Yeah."

"So she apologized to you over and over and then she babbled how much she loved you, right?"

"Uh, well.. yeah.."

"And then, while she was gazing lovingly into your deep brown eyes, she finally lost control and lunged at you like a tiger and wrecked another one of your dress shirts, yes?"

There was a pause. "Iori.."

She caught the pause. Her eyes were fixed on his. "Hmm." She read Taichi's mind. "Oh, I see. It was you who started things with her this time, not the other way around. My mistake."

"Hey! That's private!"

She teased him, "Ooh. You naughty boy."

"What? We're married!"

Aoki grinned, "Dude, I'm with Iori on this one. It's about time you started wearing the man pants with your wife."

He sighed, "I can't believe you two are both ganging up on me."

Iori raised her hand, "Taichi, you're right. Sorry for getting us off track. The point is, if Inaban is still running around alone out there, and she's not fighting with you, then something else must be bothering her."

"Yeah, and whatever the problem is, she's avoiding me because of it."

She thought some more. "No. She's not staying away from you; she's staying away from _us_."

"Huh?"

"Taichi, I don't think this particular problem involves you, at least not directly."

Taichi recalled the SMS text message that he got from Inaba. _I need some time alone. It's not you, it's me._

"Iori, you're exactly right."

"Hmm."

"So why is Inaba running?" Then Taichi thought some more. "Hey, perhaps it is that thing you were talking about earlier where you want to confront her about something? Where she can't run away until you finish reading her the riot act?"

Iori shook her head. "No. That's something else. I still need to do that, but that's not the problem that's keeping her away now. There is something else going on here, a more immediate problem. And it is making her avoid us."

"What is it then?"

She thought some more, then she looked up, "Oh of course."

"Yes?"

"It's obvious.."

Taichi tilted his head. "What is?"

"Don't you see it?"

Taichi propped up his chin with his hand. "Nuh-uh."

Aoki got it. He said, "Heartseed."

Iori grunted, "Duh."

Taichi smacked his forehead. "Of course! I should have caught that. He's back and he's messing with us again. But he hasn't disclosed to us the phenomenon yet."

Iori leaned forward. "And don't you find that just a little bit weird? In the past he has always explained to us up-front about whatever crazy crap he intended to inflict on us. Unless.."

Taichi leaned forward as well. "Unless he already told Inaba what he's doing."

"Yeah."

"And she's keeping it a secret."

"Yeah."

"From us."

"Uh-huh."

"But why?"

"Taichi, remember what happened during the age reversals?"

He nodded. He thought back to that event, when Number Two was inhabiting his sister, Rina. She had met with him in private and ordered him to keep everything secret from the others. Otherwise she threatened to harm all of them.

Iori explained, "I suspect something like that is happening here. She is being forced to keep a secret from us."

Taichi sat up. "That has to be it!" Taichi recalled what happened to him. "Boy, it was tough for me to keep that secret back then." He looked into space. "Inaba's suffering.. I didn't realize.."

Iori's face had a look of concern. "And it will be even harder for her than it was for you." That was because Iori knew that Inaba was fundamentally a worrywort, someone who was always insecure, someone who always doubted. She was a natural skeptic. And she was skeptical about her own abilities and motivations most of all.

Taichi replied, "True. She doesn't take that kind of pressure well."

"No, she doesn't."

Taichi stood up. "Then we need to let Inaba know that we are all on her side. No matter what secret she is being forced to hide from us. We have to give her our full support. 100%."

Aoki jumped up too. "120%!"

Iori stood as well. "Good. We're united. Meanwhile, I'll try to find an opportunity to chat her up in private. I'll do some pillow-talk with her. I bet you 10,000 yen that I can figure out her secret."

Taichi knew Iori all too well. "No bet." Then he added, "And when you figure out her secret?"

Iori's face was impassive. "And then we'll see."

"But.."

Iori checked her cell. She saw the time. "Taichi, you're going to be late for work."

"Huh?" He checked his own cell. "Argh! I can't be late again!" He turned to leave.

Iori grabbed his wrist with her good arm. "Taichi, wait a sec.."

"Hmm?"

"Remember that huge fight that Inaban and I had when Yui got hurt, when we stopped being friends?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, when you see Inaban for dinner tonight please tell her that I forgive her. And I apologize too. Tell her that I want us to be friends again."

He smiled. "That's great. I appreciate it. I will tell her."

"Thanks."

"I gotta go." She released his wrist. Then he leaned in and whispered, "And no teasing Aoki while I'm gone."

She crossed her heart. "Scout's honor."

He left.

* * *

Aoki had finished helping Iori clean up breakfast. He was now in the other room watching the TV. Meanwhile she made an excuse to stay in the kitchen. She sat down on the kitchen stool by herself and looked out the window.

It was because she needed some time alone to think.

_Inaban, you and I are far more alike than I ever realized. Thank goodness for Taichi for giving me that insight. But it really worries me. Because if you really are like me.._

_.. then I am very, very worried for you._

_What is going on in that head of yours? What game is Heartseed playing with you? With us?_

_I know you are keeping a huge secret from Taichi. You can't fool me. Heartseed must have boxed you in. Don't worry, I'm here to help you. I'll wheedle the secret out of you. Then I'll help you decide if Taichi should be told._

_I'm your friend, Inaban. Don't worry. I know how to keep secrets better than anybody. And so I promise you, Inaban.._

She stood up.

_.. that if we decide to keep your secret from Taichi, we will._

* * *

**A/N:**

* English translation: "I am sorry. It was my fault."

* * *

**A/N Update (2014/11/07):**

As I indicated previously, the remaining plot of this story was fully developed after I finished chapter 9. However that does not mean that the entire story was necessarily set in stone at that point. In my stories I typically sketch out some optional side-branches and subplots that I may or may not explore depending on various circumstances. Steve Anderson was one of those side-plots. Originally I wasn't planning to do much with him, or even give him a name. But looking back at the story as a whole, I was starting to feel rather bad for being so mean and cruel to our poor heroine. (I wasn't doing it out of a sense of maliciousness; it is only because the plot dynamics require it.)

To that end, I decided to devote half a chapter here for Steve Anderson. I did it mainly to provide an opportunity for Inaba to get back her self-esteem and self-confidence. (I can't have her actually landing a fulltime job as it would take her off the stage for the rest of the story.) This was a nice compromise. It shows that Inaba can indeed be successful in the world of high finance - and in fact she's quite gifted - while keeping her onstage for the rest of the story.

* * *

**A/N Update (2014/12/06):**

In celebration of the new second season of _Mushishi_ , I have just posted a complete 11,000 word novella, _The Master of the Hill_. It is the first story on FFN that is based on material from the second season of the anime. You can find it by clicking on my handle at the top.

-HuuskerDu


	16. Opportunities Taken

**Chapter 16: Opportunities Taken**

As he always did at the start of each workday, Kurosawa did his private morning devotional in his office.

_Dear gracious Lord, I need help. Please help me fight my terrible sin, my pride. You are so faithful in reminding me of that, and for that I am thankful. I admit that I am pathetically weak. Your will be done, not my own. That is why you put me into this chair. Please, continue to lead and guide me so that I focus on your will, not mine, and show me your purpose for me on this earth. Amen._

He turned on his computer screen. It was still displaying the same pair of PNG images that it did when he left the office the day before. They were photographs of the USNS _Mercy_ *, and her sister ship, the USNS _Comfort_.

They were the two largest floating hospitals in the world. Each with a displacement of over 69,000 tons, they were originally built as oil supertanker hulls. They were among the most massive ships in the United States Navy; only the great _Nimitz_ class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers were larger.

The Mercy had a distinguished history. Originally commissioned in 1986, it first saw action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. After the great 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake the ship provided medical care to over 100,000 patients across much of Southeast Asia.

The massive ship's home port was San Diego and the naval medical center located there. (Her sister ship was stationed in the Atlantic.) During standby operations the Mercy was manned by minimal crew of only 70, basically the bare minimum for ship navigation and the maintenance of its 12 operating rooms and 30 wards. But during an emergency the great ship could transform itself into a floating hospital with a medical staff of over 1,200 as it treated tens of thousands of injured and wounded patients that could be airlifted aboard by the military or civilian transport helicopters landing on its enormous flight deck.

The ship's primary mission was to provide humanitarian assistance wherever needed in the Pacific Rim. Starting in 2006, the USNS Mercy began to depart San Diego for regular deployments as part the Pacific Partnership, an ongoing civic mission. She had visited several ports in the Pacific to perform various humanitarian missions, including the training of many non-governmental organizational (NGO) relief workers, as well as doctors from the armed services of several countries and active-duty and reserve military providers from many branches of the US armed forces.

A few months ago the Mercy departed San Diego once again for this year's Pacific Partnership tour. This was its most recent deployment under the aegis of "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis". It was no coincidence that this was basically Kurosawa's own mantra, as he believed that the best way to handle a disaster was to prepare for it ahead of time as much as possible. The PP deployments fit neatly into his paradigm of doing as much preparedness planning as possible before the next disaster occurred. As part of this year's Pacific Partnership mission, the Mercy's itinerary included visiting the countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan.

Kurosawa would be heading up the civilian component for the Mercy's visit to Japan when it was scheduled to dock at the port of Yamaboshi. There it would partake in major Japan-US joint exercise in disaster preparedness planning and training.

During the visit Japan would send in a large number of personnel to spend several weeks aboard the Mercy. The highlight would be a training exercise for a simulated major regional disaster. The US contingent was actually rather modest; roughly 80% of those on board would be from Japan. Here they would practice all aspects of disaster operations including first aid, medical triage, medical trauma care, logistics, rescue operations, and other aspects of coping with a major natural disaster. It was part of a major joint exercise that simulated the aftermath of an L4 earthquake. Several other government ministries would also be involved. The JRCS would be taking point in the simulated civilian rescue and relief effort.

Kurosawa was intending to give his JRCS staff a real run for their money during the exercise. He was drawing up the map for a simulated earthquake with mass casualties in the Yamaboshi region. He wanted to make the simulation as realistic as possible. Some of the 'victims' would be actual survivors of previous earthquakes such as the 1995 Kobe quake. Others were hardened JSDF military types who had seen destruction and death firsthand. Their purpose was to shake his staff up: There would be the screaming of the wounded and dying, the panicky relatives storming into makeshift operating theaters looking for their loved ones, and general chaos everywhere.

It was all intentional. Kurosawa realized that some of the team members would probably be unable to handle such a realistic test, and some would choke or freeze in the clutch, or they would break down sobbing. They would have to be given post-action interviews and psychological tests, and if necessary culled and placed in desk jobs. It was unfortunate but necessary. It was far better to learn which ones couldn't cope now than during a real disaster.

Others would do the opposite. They would take reckless heroic risks that could endanger the lives of themselves and everyone around them. That needed monitoring too. Kurosawa made a note to watch Yaegashi especially in that regard. Fortunately, that kind of over-enthusiastic recklessness could be corrected with a proper post-action review and additional training. It was one of the reasons why Kurosawa assigned himself as Yaegashi's direct boss. The boy had great potential, but Kurosawa felt that he needed some tempering to learn to make better judgements and to think rationally before leaping into action during a crisis.

Kurosawa studied the logistical charts and maps carefully. He saw some possible bottlenecks. Medical transportation was going to be a problem. The assumption was that Yamaboshi would be more or less destroyed, with no power or port facilities, and so the great hospital ship would have to be parked offshore and use helicopters to transport the wounded. There he saw a possible problem with clearing away enough rubble to permit the landings of the large transport helicopters at the six tent triage centers.

He continued to study the screen and made notes.

At noon he heard the clock chime for lunch. He turned off the screen. His wheelchair hummed as it left the office for his lunch date with Yaegashi.

* * *

Iori and Aoki entered the front door of the apartment each carrying an armload of groceries. It was because Iori had told Taichi that she would volunteer to help stock-up the pantry now that four people would be living together in the cramped apartment. She used Taichi's debit card to buy the required staples, and Aoki went along to help carry everything. Afterwards Iori was planning to go see Kiriyama at the rehab center.

The pair were just finishing putting away the last grocery items when there was a knock on the front door.

Aoki answered it. He saw that it was Fujishima.

"Oh, hello." He bowed. "Fujishima-sama, this is unexpected. Please, come in." She did.

Fujishima glanced around a bit furtively, "Aoki, are we alone?"

Before Aoki could muster a response, Iori came ambling into the foyer while humming a pleasant tune. Iori stopped mid-hum when she spotted Fujishima.

Fujishima's eyes were wide with surprise. "Iori-chan.. what in the world are you doing here..?"

"Oh, hi."

"Wait, you two live together?"

 _Oooh.. opportunity!_ Iori walked right up and stood next to Aoki. But she did not touch him. _Ugh, I can't break my promise._ She very much did not want to hurt Aoki any further, and so she didn't try to glomp on to the big muscular man in front of Fujishima. But it was just so tempting.

She was dying to mess with Fujishima. It was a perfect chance to have some uproarious fun at her expense, and it was what Iori practically lived for. But she couldn't do it, not to Taichi. She could never let him down by breaking her promise to him no matter how strong the temptation.

_Sigh. What a wasted opportunity._

Fujishima was still trying to process what she was seeing. She only knew that this was Aoki's new home address. He had written it down on the representation agreement in her law office. He had neglected to indicate who else was living with him.

"Iori-chan.. what is going on here?"

Iori took a chance. She knew she was forbidden from messing with Aoki, not directly anyway.

But Taichi never said anything about Aoki messing with anyone else.

And so Iori turned to face Aoki. As she did so she looked him right in the eye, and while speaking in a carefully neutral tone she said, "What were we doing this morning?" She hoped that Aoki catch on and decide to play along.

He did. Without missing a beat he turned and said matter-of-factly to Fujishima, "Iori and I were in bed together."

Fujishima was stunned. "W-what..?"

Aoki grinned at his morning's bed partner. Iori could see that he was enjoying spoofing Fujishima as much as she did. His smile grew as he put his arm around her. Meanwhile he kept the ball rolling. "Don't worry, it was only physical. I was just warming her up, that's all."

Fujishima was floored.

_Iori.. wait.. you actually slept with that adorable hunk before Kiriyama could even walk..? That.. that was so shameless of you.. so wonderfully shocking.. so delightfully naughty.._

Fujishima's eyes lit up. "Iori-sama.. you're amazing."

Iori did a small bow. "Thank you."

The attorney continued to stand at the threshhold while marveling in adoration. Iori finally cleared her throat. "Uh, you came here to see your client?"

Fujishima blinked her eyes. "Oh, yes. Right. May I come in? I have some important news for Aoki."

Aoki escorted the distracted attorney inside and took her coat. Then he asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Fujishima replied absently, "Yes, thank you." As she kneeled down at the low table, Aoki went into the kitchenette to fetch the tea. Iori herself then kneeled on a cushion across from the other woman.

After making sure that Aoki was out of earshot, Fujishima leaned forward and whispered, "Iori-sama.."

Iori simply smiled back and said nothing.

Fujishima continued to lean forward. "Please, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? I could make you a wonderful meal. I have some fresh Chilean sea bass. Then afterwards I could perform a recital for you on my harpsichord. I've been practising Brahms." She was practically begging. "Bring Aoki too if you like. I don't mind at all. I mean, the more the merrier, right?"

Iori yawned, then looked down absently at her fingernails. "Now now, I already told you that I don't have an opening on my schedule this week. I might have a few hours open to squeeze you into my calendar next week perhaps. Otherwise I'm simply too busy."

Fujishima again looked into the kitchenette and sighed, "Yes.. I see that." Then she turned back. "Does anyone else live here with you?"

"Of course. Taichi and Inaban do. We all live here together."

"What? You have to be kidding me."

Iori smiled pleasantly. "It's true. We all live here. All of us. Ask Aoki if you don't believe me."

"You.. you all sleep here together? Like in a commune or a kibbutz or something?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow.. I had no idea. I mean I knew your little group was always really tight and all, but.. wow, not like that. So, uh, have you and Taichi, uh, you know..?"

Iori said nothing.

Fujishima jumped to the conclusion that Iori expected. "Oooh.." Then Fujishima asked, "And Inaba..?"

Again Iori said nothing.

"W-Wait.. _All_ of them?"

Before Iori had an opportunity to think of a suitably amusing response, Aoki returned carrying the tea tray. He served the two women and then sat next to Iori with a pleasant smile on his face. Meanwhile Fujishima's considerable imagination was running wild.

Iori allowed Fujishima's blissful daydream to continue for a few more moments, then she finally spoke up. "Fujishima, you said that you came here to give Aoki some news?"

That brought Fujishima back to reality. "Oh, uh, yes." She picked up her teacup and drank from it deeply. Then her demeanor changed. She looked down into her cup. "I just came from the courthouse records office."

Her face looked serious. "Aoki-san, I am afraid I have some good news and some bad news for you."

Aoki braced himself. "Tell me the bad news first."

"All right. A half hour ago I was dropping off the paperwork to submit your appeal to the courts. It turns out it wasn't necessary."

"It wasn't?"

"No. The Prosecutors Office had already pushed through the paperwork regarding your parole. Your parole has been terminated. It's over. You are a free man now. "

Aoki jumped up and whooped, "Hooray!" Iori got up too, "Yay!"

Then Aoki asked, "And the good news?"

"They dropped your restraining order against contacting Kiriyama. You can now visit and see Kiriyama as much as she and her family will allow."

Aoki yelled, "Yes! I can go see Yui now!"

Iori jumped in the air and yelled too, "Yahoo!" Then they joyfully hugged each other. At this point they were both ignoring the attorney's misinterpretation of whatever it was she thought she was seeing, and frankly neither one of them cared anymore.

Aoki's eyes were glowing like beacons. "She's waiting for me. Let's go!" He turned to run for the door.

But then Iori thought for a moment and frowned. She held Aoki back. "Wait. Something's wrong."

She turned to face Fujishima. "Why did you call the ending of Aoki's parole 'bad news'?"

Fujishima bowed her head. "I'm sorry.."

Aoki asked, "Wait, why are you apologizing?"

"Because I didn't expect this. Certainly not this quickly. You see, I went to the courthouse intending to submit the paperwork to the Court of Appeals to request a hearing to reverse Aoki's felony conviction. But the clerk said the parole was already dropped. They must have done it incredibly fast."

"So that's good, right? It means Aoki is a free man, correct? What's wrong with that?"

"No, this is the worst possible outcome."

Aoki asked, "I don't understand?"

"It is because it creates a huge problem. There is nothing to appeal now."

"You mean my conviction?"

"Yes. Don't you see? This case was a huge political liability that hung over the heads of a lot of important people. It threatened the Ministry of Justice, the police department, my father, practically everybody in law enforcement. They all wanted your case to just go away as quickly as possible. They wanted to make it disappear."

She looked down. "And so that is exactly what they did. The case is terminated. Your prison time has been served, the parole has ended, and therefore the case is closed. And once a case is closed like this, it is over. Don't you see? There is literally nothing left to re-litigate. Once all of the parts of your sentence including all post-sentencing obligations are completed a case cannot be re-litigated again under any circumstances. That's basic law in practically every country in the world. It's over."

Aoki was starting to understand the implications. "You mean my felony conviction is going to remain on my record.."

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Aoki. They did it to stop any embarrassing hearings in the Court of Appeals. I tried to submit the paperwork as fast as I could this morning, but it was already too late. Truly, I am sorry."

Then she gritted her teeth. "I can't believe they did this. It is highly irregular without an actual hearing. They must really be afraid of you, Aoki. Dang it, I should have anticipated this and been faster.."

Aoki tried to reassure his attorney. "It is not your fault. I'm just a walking liability to everyone around me."

Iori and Fujishima both yelled, "You are not!" Then they looked at each other a bit sheepishly.

Iori finally said to the attorney, "Look, isn't there anything else you can do? Anything at all?"

Fujishima shrugged her shoulders. "The only possible recourse at this point is to request a pardon."

Iori asked, "A pardon?"

Aoki nodded, "I've heard of that. I know that in the United States a governor can pardon someone who has been convicted of a crime. You see it sometimes in old movies, where the jailer comes running in at the last second to announce the governor's pardon just before they execute someone."

Fujishima replied dryly, "Real life is not like the movies, Aoki."

"Fine, so who can grant me a pardon in Japan? Is it the governor of the prefecture?"

"No. Higher."

"Ugh. You mean the Justice Minister?"

"No. Higher."

"The Prime Minister?"

"No."

"Wait, higher than even the Prime Minister?"

Iori was getting it. "You mean.."

Fujishima said quietly, "It would require a royal decree. A royal pardon. Aoki, the only person who can grant you your pardon is the Emperor of Japan."

The room was silent.

Finally Aoki said, "Not likely, then.."

Fujishima said flatly, "No. Look, do you know how many people have actually received a royal pardon during the past _thousand_ years? Nine. That is about one per century. The last one happened in 1943. A royal pardon is a huge deal. It is very public, very political, and with tons of publicity. And for that reason alone I can guarantee you it will never happen with your case. I'm sorry. It's over."

Aoki looked down. "You mean my felony conviction will never go away now? How am I supposed to get a job?"

"Believe me, if there was anything I could do.."

"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to soldier on somehow. I'll do what I always do and take life as it comes, one day at a time. That has always been my philosophy, to never fret about the future."

Iori stood respectfully in front of him. "That's right, Aoki. You don't need to worry about your future. That's because your friends will support you. We know you, your character. You have an amazing sense of loyalty, dedication, and devotion that any employer would thank their lucky stars to get. We just need to let everyone know how selfless and reliable you are." She began to think. "Hmm.. we need to give you some good publicity. There is no reason to keep quiet anymore. Let me think.. yeah.."

Fujishima got up and said, "Okay, I see where this is going, and the less I know the better." She prepared to leave. "Whatever scheme you are cooking up, I don't want to know. Is that understood?"

Iori smiled. "Sure. The legal part is over. Your work is done, and you did your best. And I promise there will be nothing leading back to you."

"Good. And Iori-chan.." She was looking at Iori a bit sheepishly.

"Yes?"

"Will you let me play Brahms for you on my harpsichord one day?"

Iori smiled. "Of course. It is a shame my arm is in a sling because we could have played a duet."

Fujishima looked wistful. "Yes, that would have been wonderful."

Then she spoke softly, almost as if to herself, "Friends like yours are so special. I never had that. Truly, you live a blessed life."

Iori was surprised. "Wait, you think I'm blessed.. that someone like me is blessed?"

Fujishima looked up with a sad smile, "Yes. I really do."

Fujishima then spoke her final words: "Take care of them." She left and closed the door behind her.

Iori looked thoughtfully at the now closed door. The playfulness was gone.

She closed her eyes and sighed as her inner-self continued to upwell from her soul.

It was the inner-Iori that opened her eyes again as she wiped away a tear.

She spoke quietly to the closed door.

"I will."

* * *

Aoki was standing behind her. Iori turned and apologized to Aoki. "I appreciate you playing along. I had to create that persona so that I could keep Fujishima under my thumb and make her play the beta to my alpha to maintain control. It prevented things from getting out of hand. Thanks."

"No sweat. That was actually kind of fun. I enjoyed it. I can see why you like doing it so much."

"Yeah. But in the long run it's a bad habit." And it was a habit that she ruefully realized that she would need to eventually kick one day. And probably sooner rather than later.

"Hey, it's cool with me."

"Then please don't tell Taichi, okay? I did keep my promise not to mess with you. Well technically. It was you messing with Fujishima, not me messing with you. Still, he'll probably kick my ass anyway if he finds out, though."

"Eh, I won't get you in trouble. I know that he is just trying to protect me. Honestly, your flirty come-ons are not a problem for me anymore."

"Uh, they aren't? I'm sorry.."

"Forget it. You were just goofing around because you were bored. I know that you weren't trying to take me away from Yui or anything like that. And since I know you weren't serious it doesn't bother me. Besides, there is no way that you could get between me and Yui anyway, no matter what tricks you might use on me."

"Oh..?" Iori felt vaguely insulted.

Then Aoki did something that surprised her. His face changed and became stern. "And you will _never_ be able to take me from Yui, no matter how hard you might try."

"Aoki, you know very well that I would never actually.."

He interrupted her, "Absolutely no one will ever stand between me and Yui. No one." He took a rather menacing step towards her. "Not even someone as clever and as sneaky as you."

 _Yow._ She instinctively took a step back away from him. She raised her good arm in surrender. "Okay, okay! You win! I get the message loud and clear. And from Taichi too. So just lighten up, both of you. Yes, yes, I ship you and Yui forever. Sheesh."

"Good. I'm glad you understand that."

"Oh, I do, believe me."

She picked up her jacket. "In fact, just to show you how committed I am to shipping you two, I would be more than happy to escort you right now to the rehab center to see her."

Aoki's face instantly softened; his expression reverted back to its usual puppy-dog eagerness. "Ooh! Yeah! I can see her finally! Let's go! Right now!"

Iori was still trying to button up her coat with one arm as the large man ran out of the door.

"Hey Aoki, wait for me!"

* * *

Bakou showed the photographs to Inaba's father. "I like this photo especially, sir. Do you see the forced perspective? The foreshortening of the viewing angle? It makes the two subjects appear to be sleeping next to each other. We don't have to photoshop anything at all."

The large man was silent as he looked at the photo. Then he continued to flip through the other pictures as Bakou handed them to him. He frowned with obvious disapproval.

"Hmm." He continued flipping through the other photos. Finally he said, "Very well."

The former JSDF spec-ops sergeant asked his employer, "Your orders, sir?"

There was a pause. Finally the large man said, "Continue with the operation, but suspend level black for now." He owed his daughter that much.

"Yes sir. And when the vessel arrives?"

The large man stood up from his desk. Then he turned to look at the illegal operative.

"Make sure that you are on board."

"Yes sir. That won't be difficult."

"You already know your orders. Carry them out."

"Yes sir."

Bakou left the office.

The large man walked to the window and looked outside. His face was clearly unhappy. He then returned to his desk and read for a second time the e-mail message that he had received from his daughter. He nodded and came to a decision.

He pushed a button.

"Get me Miyabi Sakuraba on the phone."

* * *

Inaba texted to Taichi that she would be waiting for him at the park on a bench at 5:00 PM for their dinner date with her father later that evening.

_T: The park bench near the street across from the apt?_

_I: Yes. I'll be waiting for you._

_T: You will be coming home with me tonight after? I miss you._

_I: Is Iori there at the apt?_

_T: Yes. She wants to be friends again. Wanted me to make sure you knew that._

_I: I want that too. Tell her I'm really sorry for our big fight._

_T: Already did. She says all is forgiven. Said she's sorry too._

_I: Thx._

_T: So you coming home then?_

There was a delay before Inaba finally texted back.

_I: Yes. Put me up with Iori in our bedroom. I might end up wearing earplugs tho._

_T: LOL! Okay. See you this evening. Love you._

Inaba lowered her phone and smiled at it.

At noon, Inaba went to Tsubame Grill. There she hammered out the agreement with Steve Anderson to be his trading proxy. She would do the financial trades on her home computer using one of Steve's personal trading accounts. Basically Steve would provide her the bankroll and Inaba would do the trades for him.

After much haggling they agreed that Inaba would get 40% of the net. Originally she wanted 50% but backed down after Steve pointed out that he was assuming all of the risk with his bankroll and she was risking basically nothing. Plus he was paying the taxes. She had expected him to haggle down to 25% or so. Then they they would compromise around 30%.

The fact that he gave in so quickly at 40% was suspicious to her. She suspected it might be because he was gamely hoping to get some fringe benefits on the side. But she knew he was damned if he was going to get anything like that from her. She had a written agreement, after all. The term was for three months, and after that it required Steve to write a letter of recommendation. Then she could enter the employment market as an experienced trader with a proven track record and finally try to get a job with a major financial firm.

She went to the park and sat on the bench. She looked up into the air and sighed.

_Okay, Iori. We're finally going to have our little get-together, just you and me. But remember that this works both ways. I'm going to figure out why you are so hell-bent on slowly killing yourself. Then I'm going to drag you kicking and screaming until you face reality and change your messed-up life._

_And heaven knows what you are going to try to do to me. I know you are too clever to confront me directly, at least not at first. You're too sly for that. You'll try to get chummy with me first, to regain my trust, then burrow your way past my defenses and get inside my head._

_I know how you operate, Iori. We both know each other too well. And frankly I don't need any more stress than I already have, but you cleverly forced this._

_If this is what you really want, well okay then. Fine. So be it._

_And if anything bad happens to you or between us it will be on your head, not mine._

* * *

It was now late afternoon. Iori and Aoki had long since returned from their visit to see Yui Kiriyama. Iori thought that the girl seemed to be doing really well with her rehab. She was already trying to walk on steel arm canes, far ahead of schedule. Iori suspected that Aoki was a big part of her motivation. She did not miss the fact that Kiriyama made a point of briefly touching her suitor on the arm. It had to have been deliberate, probably as a way of reassuring him.

From the bedroom window of the apartment Iori thought she could just barely make out Inaba sitting on a bench on the far side of the park. She stood up and began to put her coat on with the intention of 'accidentally' running into her while taking a walk.

Then she paused and thought for a moment. She decided against it. She realized that Inaba would not be fooled for a second. She leaned at the edge of the window and continued to look outside. She thought of another plan, then discarded it. Then a third. Then a fourth. She sat on the bed and frowned.

_I give up. No gambit is going to work on you. You're just too smart._ _Inaban, I really am your friend, and I so desperately want to help you. To save you. But how?_

_What in the world_ _is going on with you? What has Heartseed done? You know darn well that working together is the only way we have ever defeated him before. Don't you remember that? So please don't try to fight him alone. I know you want to, but it never works._

_Inaban, please trust me. I want to help. How do I get you to trust me? Should_ _I share my secrets with you? Would that help? No, that could backfire horribly. You could even jump the rails and end up on my lifetrack. I can't risk that._

_Argh! What do I do?_

_Meanwhile I know that you'll try to 'save me' from myself, which I know is impossible..._

Then a terrible thought struck her. Wait..

Was that what Heartseed's test actually was? Would he really go that far?

No.. he wouldn't. But, wait, if not him, perhaps one of the others? Maybe that awful Number Two or that even worse Number Three? Could they..?

Yes, they could. And Number Three certainly would.

She felt it, a gut instinct.

She was certain. She knew it.

_Oh no.. No no no..._

She knew it.

_Before this is over.._

She stood up.

_.. someone is going to die._

She knew it.

_The only question.._

She bit her knuckle.

_.. is who will die._

* * *

**A/N:**

* The USNS _Mercy_ (T-AH-19) is a real ship, and the Pacific Partnership is a real program. You can find both on Wikipedia. You can see some cool pics of the ship if you search Google Images for 'USNS Mercy'.

Disclosure: My SO served in the US Navy (not on that ship).


	17. The Root of Evil

**Chapter 17: The Root of Evil**

It was another glorious day. A handful of billowy cumulus clouds just touched the mountaintops in the distance as the higher cirrus clouds slowly swung their horse tails in the sky. Viridescent forests climbed up the mountain foothills, met by pure mountain streams that flowed down and fed them from the melting snowpack. The streams merged into a meandering river that shined with silvery sparkles as it lazily flowed away to the horizon.

Taichi and Kurosawa were sitting at a small table in the outdoor portion of the JRCS staff cafeteria. The scenic vista spread out before them in the distance.

Kurosawa had just asked Taichi to repeat his question from Tuesday's lunch.

He did. "Sir, why is there so much evil in the world? If God loves us, why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?"

Taichi knew his question was not easy to answer, so he waited patiently for his boss to respond.

Meanwhile, Kurosawa was using his chopsticks to grab and pop a small rolled omelette into his mouth. Then another. Then another.

Taichi continued to wait. After a minute Kurosawa said, "Lad! Don't just sit there like a statue. Eat! Give me a minute. I'm thinking about how to answer your question."

Taichi obeyed. He twirled some noodles on his chopsticks and sucked them in.

After another minute Kurosawa finally spoke. "Hmm, all right. Tell me, Yaegashi, I have a question for you."

"Yes, sir?"

"Can God make a stone that is so heavy that He cannot lift it?"

Taichi was confused. "Huh? That is something a child would ask."

"Yes, but how would you answer that question if you were God?"

"I wouldn't. It's a silly question."

"Ok, but why is it a silly question?"

"Well, it just is. It's just.. a bogus question, that's all."

"You mean the question is invalid."

"Yes, exactly."

"But, Yaegashi, why is it invalid?"

"Uhm.." He thought some more. "Because it just is."

Kurosawa smiled. "The proper response, Yaegashi, is to say that the question is invalid because it is ill-posed. The question is based on the assumption that God would ever desire to do something against His own will. The question stumbles on the double-meaning of the word 'can'. It conflates its two definitions: to allow (you may) and to want (desire to)."

"You mean kind of like the question, 'When did you stop beating your wife?'"

"Well, I suppose, sort of. But that question makes a different bogus assumption, that the person had been beating his wife, and the only question was to determine when he had stopped beating her. It's a cheap rhetorical trick."

"I see."

"So getting back to the original subject.. now tell me Yaegashi, what do you think of your question now, 'Why does God allow evil?'"

Taichi thought a bit. "Hmm. I think what you are saying is that it is like the rock that God cannot lift, right? The question itself is ill-posed. Invalid."

"Yes. But why is it ill-posed?"

Taichi thought some more. "It is because the question stumbles over the meaning of the word 'allow', just like the first question question does over the word 'can'."

"You are correct. The question conflates the meaning that word, to permit (you may) versus to want (desire to). Now, in this case the second meaning is a bit more subtle than the rock question, because it turns on an implicit implication that God can do anything He desires, and so therefore He ought to be able to prevent evil and yet He does not."

"I see. So in other words, what you are saying is that God permits evil to exist, but He does not desire it. But then please tell me, sir, why did God create evil in the first place if He does not want it?"

"You are asking me why did God create evil?"

"Yeah."

Kurosawa looked a bit disappointed, for he saw that Taichi had just asked another ill-posed question without realizing it. He felt that Taichi should have been able to answer it himself. Kurosawa thought a moment about how to best explain it as simply as possible.

He finally said, "Give me that clean paper napkin." Taichi handed it to him.

Kurosawa took out a ballpoint pen and carefully drew a round line on it. Then he showed it to Taichi. "What is that?"

"You drew a circle."

"Yes, a circle. That is my answer to your question."

Taichi picked up the napkin and looked at it. "This is a riddle." He tried the understand the point that Kurosawa was trying to make. "Does it have something to do with the _Taijitu_ , the Great Circle with the yin and yang? That good and evil are opposite forces?"

Kurosawa indulgently replied, "Nice guess, but no. Try again."

Taichi thought some more. Eventually he gave up. He had no idea what Kurosawa was driving at. He decided to wait patiently for Kurosawa to explain the riddle to him.

Meanwhile, Kurosawa saw that Taichi wasn't eating. Kurosawa narrowed his eyes a bit and looked at Taichi's plate, then at him, then at his plate once more. Taichi got the hint and began digging into his meal again. As he did so, Kurosawa explained, "The answer to my little riddle, dear lad, is the circle itself. Its existence. Did God create that? I don't mean this particular one, I mean the idea, the concept, of a circle."

Taichi thought. "Uhm, well, not 'create' as such, no. The idea of a circle exists independently of any creator. It would exist even if there was no God at all."

"Right. A circle exists intrinsically. It has always been 'created', so to speak, not by God per se, but by the fundamental rules of basic mathematics. These basic laws exist independently of any creator. A circle is the natural result of constructing the set of all points on the Euclidean plane that are at a given distance _r_ from a given point. The end result is always a circle."

"I see. So what you are implying is that evil works the same way, yes? That evil is the result of some deeper, more fundamental, rules."

"Am I? Keep going."

"And, uh, and so.." Taichi furrowed his brow. ".. and so there might be rules that are so deep that they are intrinsic to how everything works, right? So the 'circle of evil', so to speak, is intrinsic. It is intrinsic not in the sense of God creating our particular universe or world, but in how _any_ such universe by necessity must operate. At least any interesting one. And so to prevent a circle from being created, Euclid could have stopped with simply a one-dimensional geometry instead of a three-dimensional one, say, a number line, like the ones we studied in elementary school. That would prevent anyone from creating an 'evil circle'. But such a geometry would be incredibly boring and uninteresting."

Kurosawa's eyes twinkled a bit. "Very good Yaegashi. You just said something profound."

"Uh, I did?"

Then Kurosawa appeared to change the subject. "Tell me, Yaegashi, why do predators exist?"

That thew Taichi off a bit. He wasn't sure where Kurosawa was going with his new question. He thought some more. "Uhm, predators exist because they are a fundamental part of how life works..?"

Kurosawa beamed at him, "Excellent! Yes, predators do seem to be everywhere. Even amoebas are predators. Organisms would have never progressed beyond the level of pre-eukaryotic cells otherwise. Mitochondria would have never been captured, for example, and that is a necessary prerequisite to form cells that contain a distinct nucleus with internal organelles, without which life would have been incredibly dull and uninteresting. And so we have predators."

Taichi said, "And so.. on a human level it's the same thing, right? It's a fundamental side effect of our having free will. If humans could never prey on other humans, if evil was not possible, then we would lose all of our free will, our freedom to make moral choices. And the freedom to make those choices is important to Him, yes? It part of what makes us precious in His eyes.."

"Yes. A forced confession is useless, empty. Meaningless. Worse than useless, actually."

"Of course. Otherwise we would be nothing more than dolls, robots."

"Which is why free will is fundamental. But tell me, Yaegashi, why not just simply outlaw all evil acts? Why not just create, say, some kind of worldwide police force that would always intervene as soon as we tried to do anything wrong?"

"Uhm.. because then there would just be resentment added as well. The desire for rebellion would be universal, and be quite justified to boot."

"Okay. But now we are back to square one."

Taichi sighed, "Ugh. I never realized how tricky it is.."

"You're catching on. And yet we know that God's solution is elegant. We know that His creation is amazing and majestic. I mean, just look at it." Kurosawa gestured to the scenic vista on the horizon. "All of the wonderful and beautiful scenery that you see before you was constructed from just four basic physical forces operating on a handful of elementary particles."

"And it is the same with us at the human level, right? That there are just a few basic rules of behavior? God has established those basic principles, like free will, which are needed in order for us to choose to love Him of our own volition. And so evil was also permitted, but not as flaw or defect, but rather as a necessary side effect of our ability to make choices."

"Correct. I think C.S. Lewis said it best. _'Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata - of creatures that worked like machines - would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they've got to be free.'_ "

He went on. "When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Good and Evil, it gave them the awareness of the ability to make moral choices, which they then could make of their own free will."

Taichi leaned forward. "But sir, didn't they already have free will before the Fall? And if so, why couldn't they do evil acts before then?"

"They did have it, but they were also in perfect communion with God, so having evil thoughts didn't even occur to them. They didn't sin because it just wasn't even conceivable. Afterwards it was."

"But why not just have both? Why can't we have perfect communion with Him and the awareness to make moral choices, all at the same time?"

Kurosawa spun another noodle ball. "Well, you can either have the knowledge and ability to make moral choices - and face the consequences - or you can have direct contact with God, and with it immortality, and never stray because it never even enters your mind. You cannot have both. Once the option is open you are going to slip up. It's inevitable, and then communion with Him becomes impossible. Well, that is, at least not until you introduce some kind of reconciliation mechanism."

"You mean Christ."

"Yes."

"So, evil is basically the inevitable byproduct of our having free will combined with our ability to make moral choices."

"More or less." Kurosawa unspooled the noodle ball into his mouth.

"I see." Taichi understood that much now, but then he thought of another objection. He leaned forward and asked, "But then please tell me, sir, why does God allow so much suffering in the world? Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people? I don't mean evil acts, but things like accidents, illnesses, natural disasters and such?"

The large man finished downing his rice and said, "Ah, your second question from Tuesday. That one goes even deeper than your first. Indeed, it goes about as deep as any such philosophical question can go. You certainly do have a knack for asking hard questions, my boy."

Kurosawa leaned back. "Well, the truth is, I don't have a fully satisfactory answer for you."

Taichi looked a bit disappointed.

Kurosawa put down his chopsticks. This was the first time Taichi saw him actually stop eating during their talks. "But I tell you what, I'll give it my best shot. Is that okay?"

"Thank you sir. I appreciate it."

"Hmm. Okay.. let me think a moment."

Taichi waited.

"Hmm. Here it goes. Now, please understand that this is only my personal view on the subject. Don't take my word as gospel."

"Of course, sir. I understand."

"Well, let me see. First of all, let me ask you another question: What kind of world would you like there to be? Would you like a world that was a utopia where there was no pain, no labor, no hills to climb? Nothing to accomplish? No obstacles? No challenges?"

"Well, uh.. no.."

"Now, pick any human trait or quality that you admire."

"Hmm. Courage."

"Courage only exists in the face of adversity. Whether it be war, serious health issues, or a threat to oneself or another. In a utopia there would be no need for courage. Now pick another."

"Compassion."

"Compassion only exists where another is in pain or in need. Otherwise there would be no need for sympathy, no empathy. Or how about healing? Healing can only exist where there is sickness or injury. We can keep doing this endlessly. Taichi, don't you see? No good quality of man can exist without suffering in the world. We have to understand and accept this."

Taichi said thoughtfully, "I see. I know this is a basic Buddhist teaching."

"Indeed. It is one of Buddhism's most central concepts, called _dukkha_. The Buddhist's response to suffering is basically, 'Yeah, life sucks and then you die. So deal with it and move on.' This is why Buddhism teaches that we ought to detatch ourselves from worldly desires in favor of spiritual ones. I do respect Buddhism in that regard, but as a Christian I know there is far more to it than that."

Kurosawa folded his napkin. "Now, you remember on Tuesday the hint that I gave you, the three words that I told you to think about?"

"Corrective, constructive, and controlling."

"That's right. In light of our discussion so far, do you think you can explain them to me?"

Taichi thought a moment. "Well, sir, I think I understand the first one. By 'corrective' you were referring to the bad things that can happen to us as a direct consequence of our own willful, negligent, or foolish actions. Things that are our own fault. For example, when a chain smoker gets lung cancer. Or when a driver doesn't wear his seat-belt and flies through a windshield. It is our own fault that these bad things happen."

"Fair enough. And the second, constructive?"

Taichi put down his chopsticks. "There is an old saying, 'Whatever does not kill you makes you stronger.' I think here you were referring to the bad things that happen in your life that temper or mold your character, that change you, that make you a wiser or a better person for it."

"I did. And it includes even things that actually kill your body, even though the Lord will never put you in a situation beyond what your spirit can bear."

"I see." Then Taichi took a chance and said, "And it includes the reason why you are sitting in that wheelchair."

Kurosawa was impressed with Taichi's insight. He had never told him what happened. "You're right. And one day I will tell you my story, but not today. Our remaining lunch time is getting too short."

It was at a later lunch that Kurosawa explained to Taichi his story, of how God had to break his body to break him. To break him of his own smug sense of moral superiority over his tormentors, and how he had fancied himself to be like Jesus in that regard, when in truth he had acted more like a Pharisee as he accused and condemned everyone around him for their moral failings. It wasn't until his body was broken and his mother taken away - the only person in the world who he felt had loved him up to that point - that his spirit was changed, and he was transformed, as he finally understood what Jesus had really done for him and everyone else at Calvary. And from that he understood what mercy and compassion really were, and it changed his life forever.

"Of course sir, I understand."

Kurosawa started eating the remainder of his meal again. Taichi then leaned forward and asked, "But sir, I'm still unsure about that last one, 'controlling'. From what you've said so far today I think I have a small glimmer of what you were hinting at, but I still don't really get most of it. I don't understand why God would allow all those terrible disasters to occur, like massive earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and such."

"All right. Give me a moment to think." Kurosawa sat back. "Again, please keep in mind that these are just my own opinions and should not be taken as gospel."

"Of course."

Kurosawa decided that he had finished his meal even though his plate wasn't empty, which was uncharacteristic of him.

"I have another question for you, Yaegashi. Tell me, what is mankind's oldest sin?"

Taichi knew that one was easy. "It is to try to become like God, which is what the serpent said in his lie to Adam and Eve to induce them to eat of the Tree."

"Correct. In other words, mankind's oldest sin is in trying to replace God. We do it over and over. We do it every time we try to create a utopia based on so-called 'scientific' principles. And it doesn't matter if it is a workers paradise, a Volksgemeinschaft, a Nietzschen dictatorship, or any other form of secular society that rejects God. These attempted utopias have always failed, and they always will. One reason they keep doing it is because the 19th century German secular philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said, 'God is dead, and we have killed him.' He said that God could be replaced by the _Ubermensch_ , the superman. All that was needed was the will and the power to do so."

Taichi chuckled, "Isn't that the old joke?"

 _God is dead._  
_-Nietzsche_

 _Nietzsche is dead._  
_-God_

Kurosawa grinned, "Well, yes, heh. And it doesn't help his case that he went completely insane at the end, running around the streets of Turin babbling about being crucified." Then his face became more serious. "More to the point, I think these attempts are one reason why natural disasters periodically happen to us. You see, I think that God needs to kick down our little anthills once in a while, to remind us who is really in charge. We humans try to create great societies, construct large public works, build majestic bridges, tall buildings, and huge cities. And we can marvel at all of these great achievements. But we need to remember that we are not in charge of the place. Somebody else is in charge. And I think our landlord has to periodically remind us of that."

Taichi grinned, "And a good thing too, otherwise there would be no need for people like you or me."

Kurosawa made a small smile again. "Yes, if there were no disasters you and I would be out of a job. We'd be unemployed." His face became oddly wistful. "I look forward to that day.."

"Sir?"

"The day when the suffering ends, when the story is finished."

Taichi wasn't following. "The story?"

"Oh, I mean God's story, the Bible. The story begins with God's chosen people, the Israelites - the name the Lord gave to Jacob after he wrestled with the angel: Israel, 'He who wrestles with God'. The Israelites are literally the God-wrestlers. The Old Testament is a basically a love story about a parent and His wayward children. God had sent his prophets to His unruly children, the God-wrestlers, to try to bring them back home to Him. That's the whole OT in a nutshell. And He never gave up on them. And He still hasn't given up on them, and He never will.

"And then, in the New Testament, the story expands. His offer is extended to all of us to become His adopted children, to cross the impossible gap with His Son as the bridge, to give us the opportunity to reconcile us all with Him so that we can all call Him 'Abba' (Daddy) and finally be united with Him and be brought home. But instead we rebelled and killed Him. And we will continue to rebel again and again, right to the very end, until the day He returns and we are finally reconciled and brought home to Daddy."

Taichi asked, "But why make us go through all that suffering and pain in order to get there?"

"Ah, you asked another good question. Yes, why didn't the Lord simply jump to the end of the story? Why not just jump to the Bible's final chapter, Revelations 22, and leave out all the other 1,180 chapters and all that history, most of which was abject misery? Why not just have everyone go to live in with Him in Heaven right at the start?"

"I don't understand it either, sir. Why did all this rebelling and suffering have to happen first?"

"Well, I think it is because God is trying to make a point. You see, I think that all of human history is basically a demonstration exercise."

"A demonstration exercise?"

"Yes."

"But for who? Himself?"

"No of course not, silly."

"Then for who?"

The chime sounded for the end of the lunch hour. Kurosawa looked at his watch. "Well, you and I need to go back to work. Meanwhile I'll let you think about that last question for next time. Here's a hint: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel."

"Oh.. uh, yes sir, thank you. And thank you so much for taking so much of your valuable time to talk with me. I know you are a busy man."

Kurosawa laughed, "Not at all, lad! I always have time for a seeker." He knew that Taichi already had a servant's heart, pure and selfless. It was an amazing gift the lad had. But still, Kurosawa felt that Taichi wasn't quite ready, not yet. But he was close. His heart understood it instinctively, but not his head. Not yet, anyway. And no amount of conversation, or studying, or meetings, or reading, would do it. The tipping point would probably be some completely unexpected event or calamity in his life. Kurosawa knew that God always worked on His own timetable. It would happen then, and not before then, or not at all.

Taichi began to stand up.

Kurosawa pushed him back down. "Wait just one more moment. I have something else to discuss with you. This won't take long." Taichi pulled up his seat to the table again.

Kurosawa's face was frowning. "Our little friendly lunch is over. I am now speaking to you officially as your boss." He clasped his hands together on the table. "Yaegashi, I had a little meeting with Keiso in my office yesterday. I have to say, I am rather disappointed in both of you."

Taichi was startled. "Oh.." He felt ashamed. "I am very sorry sir." He stood quickly and bowed in apology. "Iori Nagase was a good friend of mine. She was hurt and in trouble, and I simply wanted to help her.."

"I understand that. But instead of sneaking in to her hospital room you should have come to me first. I would have figured out a way to let you talk to her without violating police regulations."

"I know sir. I am sorry."

"Now, I realize that you had the best of motives, and that you are new here, and you didn't know me yet, so I suppose I can give you some leniency. I'm actually more disappointed with Keiso than with you."

Kurosawa sighed. "It wasn't until later that day I suspected something was amiss. I could tell just by looking at your two guilty faces during the orientation meeting. You obviously were both embarrassed to be in the same room together. So I asked Keiso what was going on. Keiso ought to have known better than to try to hide something like that from me. I had to pull his sorry ass into my office to drag the truth out of him. If it's any consolation, Yaegashi, he tried valiantly to protect you. But still, I really ought to suspend him..."

Taichi interjected, "No! Please don't sir! It was all my fault for trying to see Nagase without authorization. So if you must punish anyone, please punish me, not him. None of it would have happened if it wasn't for me."

His boss smiled. "Somehow I knew you'd say that. Yaegashi, you are a fine lad and your selflessness does you credit. Your new bride is a very lucky woman. And I do think you have a bright future here at the JRCS." Then Kurosawa's smile stopped. "But I need to caution you, Yaegashi. You are far too quick to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others, to the point of recklessness. We need to work on that character flaw, you and I."

Taichi looked down. "Yes, sir, I know. My wife says the same thing to me all the time."

"She does? She is a smart woman. I wouldn't mind meeting her some day." He paused. "By the way, I trust that everything is okay at home..?" The question was clearly a leading one. Again Taichi was surprised at Kurosawa's perceptiveness.

Taichi decided to be honest. "Sir, I won't deny that my wife and I have had some rough patches lately. Between our new marriage, our moving into a new apartment, and some.. other things.. she has been under a lot of stress lately.." He faltered.

Kurosawa knew that now was not the right time to try to pry into his subordinate's personal life. He raised his hand to prevent Taichi from continuing. "Stop. Sorry for getting us off track. Anyway, getting back to your job here at the JRCS, you need to think before you leap into action to try to rescue somebody. Don't let your natural impulses take over heedlessly. You have a bad habit where you jump in without thinking first, regardless of the consequences to yourself and others."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's consider your new wife. How do you think your wife would react if, for example, you got yourself killed while foolishly trying to rescue somebody from a burning building that was obviously going to collapse? Your young bride would be left a widow. How do you think she would feel about the fact that you had thrown away your life so foolishly?"

Taichi recalled Inaba's many stern lectures on that subject.

He went on. "And if you had children? They would grow up without a father. How do you think they would feel about your reckless act?"

Taichi hadn't thought of that. It was true that he very much wanted to have children some day. Inaba was more ambivalent, saying she wasn't sure if she could be a good mother. In response Taichi said that, if necessary, he'd wear the apron and play Mr. Mom while she worked. Inaba told him to stop joking around, but he told her he was serious. Inaba then did her usual facepalm.

Kurosawa was still admonishing him. "Do you want that? Do you think she wants that?"

"Of course not, sir."

"So lead with your heart, yes, but also use your head. Much of the training that we do here at the JRCS is to learn to set priorities, to optimize the use of our very limited resources, so that we can save as many lives as we can. But we cannot save everyone, we simply can't. I know you want to try, and it speaks highly of your character, but we just can't. You need to learn that."

"I understand. Thank you for reminding me, sir."

Kurosawa made a thin-lipped smile. "Oh, I'm going to do way more than that, Yaegashi. I am setting up a full-scale disaster-relief training exercise for the entire team. We are going to simulate a major disaster right here in Yamaboshi. I will tell you right up front: You _will_ be tested. Hard. I'm not telling you any secrets here. I'm going to announce this to everybody at the next meeting. Each member of my staff will be tested in a different way, and believe me it will not be easy for any of you."

"You are going to test me?"

"Yes. I won't reveal to you exactly what your particular test is going to be, but you need to be ready for it. You will be officially rated and evaluated based on how well you perform in this disaster drill. It will determine whether you will be assigned to the front line or relegated to a desk job."

Taichi practically saluted. "Yes sir! I promise I will do my best."

Kurosawa's wheelchair pulled away from the table. But just before he proceeded inside, he turned one last time to face his subordinate.

"I am sure you will."

* * *

Inaba was sitting on the bench in the park that was located across the street from the apartment. She was waiting for Taichi to pick her up for their scheduled dinner date with her father. She was not aware that Iori was watching her at that moment from the window.

The weather was not unpleasant, but it was getting late in the day, and it was chilly enough for Inaba to be wearing a light coat. She knew that Taichi would be picking her up in about an hour.

As she waited she noticed that the mama duck had returned and was leading her brood of ducklings across the pond again.

A few minutes later someone sat on the bench next to her. She didn't have to turn her head to know who it was.

"I was wondering when you'd show up again."

"Good afternoon, Inaba. A lovely day, isn't it?"

Inaba crossed her arms and continued to avoid Rina's gaze. As she stared at the ducklings she muttered, "Bite me."

Rina casually crossed her legs and leaned back on the bench. "Now my dear, that is no way to talk to your benefactor. My plan to get rid of Heartseed is proceeding on schedule. You should be happy. After all, soon you will free of him for good. Aren't you happy?"

Inaba continued to stare ahead. "Shut up. I know what the 'small payment' is that you want from me, that 'little thing'."

"Ah, I see."

Inaba finally swirled around. She gave Rina a death glare. "You rotten bitch! You want to take my baby, just like Rumpelstiltskin. It's just like the fairy story. And it is so cliché."

Rina looked a bit confused. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I'm not following you. Are you saying I want to steal away your child?"

"Yes!"

Rina looked incredulous. "What? Oh no, my dear girl. I am afraid you misunderstood me completely."

"Wait, you mean, you don't want to take my baby and raise it yourself?"

Rina made a puzzled expression. "No. Why would I want that? That would be silly. How could I raise a child? I'm not even corporeal. It's absurd."

"Then what..?"

Rina's voice was low and menacing. "I want your fetus. But not like that."

Inaba's eyes widened in shock. "You're.. you're going to induce a miscarriage.."

Rina made a face. "Pshaw. That is even more absurd. I would never do that. In your shared grief it would only cause you and Taichi to bond more tightly. If anything it would bring you two closer together."

Inaba felt relieved. But..

"So what is it you want from me then?"

Rina moved in close. Inaba could feel her breath and see her eyes shining with menace. She saw a tinge of red around the irises. Inaba leaned away instinctively.

"What I want, my dear girl, is very simple."

"Which is?"

"Do what you have already decided to do."

"What?"

Rina sat up and crossed her arms in disappointment. Heartseed had claimed this girl was supposed to be intelligent, and yet she still didn't get it.

Rina rolled her eyes in exasperation. Finally she said, "I can read your mind, you fool. I know what you think. You believe that you will never be a good mother. You also believe that your traditionally-minded father will insist you stay at home to raise your child even if it meant you not succeeding him to run his empire, which is his most cherished desire. I see it all in your unconscious mind. I can see it. I can see it all. And there's more."

"There's.. more?"

"Yes. For example, I know the true purpose for your forcing Taichi to marry you. I see it, why you married him. It wasn't because you loved him, to live happily ever after and all that rot. Of course not. You will never be happy. Ever. It's not in your character. In your heart of hearts you know you will never be happy no matter what happens. And so you know that your love for Taichi is selfish and greedy. That is why you stole him away from Iori and destroyed her life. You're a pathetically selfish person. You simply grabbed whatever you wanted, and damn the consequences to anyone else.

"But even so, you would never force Taichi into marriage just for your own lustful desire to own and possess him forever. No, you would not do that. Your wonderful propensity for guilt wouldn't allow it. For you see, you had a different reason. The one I see. The real one."

"Which was?"

"It is simple. You married him to protect him. You think that if you were married it would create a reason for him to continue living, to stop him from getting himself killed with his suicidal reckless selflessness. You hoped that once he was married that he might think twice before jumping into the fire.

"But now that you married him you realize that you were wrong, that despite all your best efforts, no matter how hard you try, that Taichi's rescue instincts will inevitably get himself killed one day. And probably sooner than later. And now you know that despite your foolish desire to protect him, it will happen anyway. You will become a widow before you are 25. He will die and you will be alone again. I see it all in your mind. You know it. You deny it, but it's there.

"And you know that you could never raise a child alone. You literally don't know how to do it. And you would never delegate the task to a bunch of nameless Korean nannies. Never. You would never do that. To grow up isolated, alone, and unloved? Like you yourself were raised? Never."

Inaba felt convicted. She remained silent.

Rina casually tossed her hair back. "Anyway, you have already decided. You just haven't admitted it to yourself yet."

"You mean.."

"Yes, you have decided to end your pregnancy. And that is what I want. Just do what you have already decided to do. That's it."

"Just that?"

"Yes. That's it. It's simple, really. It's all I want, nothing more. You see, despite what Heartseed might say about me, I'm actually a reasonable person."

Inaba stared at her enemy. She spat back, "Go to hell."

"Too late." Rina then looked idly at her long fingernails. "We have a agreement. A contract. You can't back out now."

"What? It's not like I signed anything in blood!"

Rina's eyes flashed again. She said with quiet malice, "Actually, that is precisely what you did. In blood."

Inaba understood. Her child's blood was her own. But still.. "But why? What possible benefit could there be for you if I.."

"That doesn't concern you."

Inaba was adamant. "It does! Tell me why!"

Rina made a small grin. "Because you have become interesting to me. Heartseed wants you. Now I want you too."

"I don't understand."

Rina threw back her retort: "You don't have to."

Rina was quite pleased with herself, for she knew that the contract would allow her to destroy not only the Pentagon but also Heartseed as well.

Her job was done. She got up and began to leave.

Then she turned around.

"Oh, one last thing. If you even think about abrogating our blood contract, then know this: I will make full use of the revenge clause. I will attack and destroy you, and Kiriyama, and Aoki, and Nagase. All of you. And do it completely unfettered. And I will take my delight in doing so."

"Please, no.."

"Oh, and your father too. That one would just be for kicks. You are such a fool. I still can't believe that you actually forgot to include him in the protection clause. Maybe I should destroy him right now.."

"No! Don't!"

Rina sighed. "Oh, now, now." She gave her prey an indulgent smile. "I do like you, Inaba. I really do. So I will be magnanimous and give you another gift. A gesture of goodwill on my part. I will add your father to the protection clause of our contract. He's safe now. See? I can be a very reasonable person."

Inaba jumped up. "Get out of here! I never want to see your face again!"

"Don't worry, you won't."

"Go!"

Rina began to leave.

Something tickled at the back of Inaba's mind.

_I will attack and destroy you, and Kiriyama, and Aoki, and Nagase._

Wait.. what about..

A name was missing. She realized something horrible.

"Wait! Stop!" Rina did.

Inaba's voice quavered as she spoke. "You threatened Iori, Yui, Aoki, myself, and my father."

"Yes, I did."

"But you didn't threaten Taichi.."

"No, I did not." Rina was impressed. Maybe Inaba wasn't so stupid after all.

Inaba grew more agitated. "Tell me why.. tell me why you didn't include Taichi!?"

Rina smiled again. "You already know."

Inaba understood the implication. Taichi was already doomed.

Inaba fell on her knees before Number Three. "No.. no.. no.."

"Mmm?"

"Please, you have to protect him. Stop it from happening. Stop him from killing himself."

Rina was quite pleased with seeing Inaba kneeling down before her in this way. "And if I do?"

Inaba looked up. "Then I will.. I will do whatever you want."

"You will?"

"Yes! Yes! Just don't let him die!" She looked down again as her tears spattered the grass beneath.

"Everyone dies, my dear."

"You know what I mean!"

Rina began to think. This was an unexpected opportunity. The actual reason she omitted Taichi's name was because she had no authority over him. She was strictly prohibited with interfering with the lives of such people. Inaba had simply misunderstood the reason for the omission.

The man was indeed doomed, and there was nothing Number Three could do about it one way or the other.

Still, was there a way to twist Inaba's misunderstanding to her advantage?

Rina spoke carefully. "If you keep our contract, he is protected under it. I promise that I will do everything possible to save him."

Inaba looked up with hope in her eyes. "You'll protect him?"

"Yes, as much as I can."

Rina could do nothing to prevent or change Taichi's fate, so her answer was technically truthful.

"Thank you.. all right. Then I'll do it."

"Of course you will." Rina lovingly touched Inaba's head, for she knew that Inaba was hers now.

Rina said reassuringly, "Like I said, I am a reasonable person. And you have already made your choice, so it really doesn't matter anyway."

Inaba got up again. She spat back, "Now get the hell out of here, you bitch."

Rina took the insult in stride. "Very well, I will honor your wish. As I said, you will never see my face ever again."

Inaba barked, "Good."

"Farewell, my dear Himeko Yaegashi."

Rina left.

Inaba then sat back down alone on the park bench. She was in abject misery as she put her head in her hands. Then she looked up at the sky in despair.

_This is all my fault: what happened to Iori and her wreck of a life, what I'm doing to Taichi, Rina's threat against all of them. It's all my fault._

She ruefully looked at the ducklings again.

She felt they were the lucky ones.

* * *

An hour later a black limo picked up Inaba from the park. Taichi was already waiting inside. She sat next to him soundlessly. One look at her face and he knew that whatever was bothering her, it was bad this time. She needed his support. As much as he could give her.

And so he did. She curled up next to him in the back seat. He stroked her hair as he held her. Neither spoke.

He recognized her body language. He had seen it before during the reconciliation stage of their many fights. He gently held her like he had done so many times before. She rested her head in the crook of his arm and closed her eyes like a baby.

But this time he knew the cause wasn't another fight. Iori had explained it to him.

Finally he said quietly, "Heartseed, right?"

She nodded slightly while still nestled under his shoulder with her eyes closed. "Yeah."

"You got trapped. Boxed in. There's a secret you can't tell us."

"No.. I can't.." She looked up at him. "How did you know?"

"Iori figured it out."

Of course she did. "Taichi, I can't.."

He pulled her closer. "Shush. It's okay. You don't have to tell me. I won't ask."

"I'm so sorry.."

"No, it's okay. Remember when you suspected that Rina was forcing me to keep the secret about the age reversals? You began to suspect I was hiding something, and so you got angry and forced the secret out of me. Remember that?"

Inaba curled herself tighter into a ball. "I just made things worse. I only hurt you. I'm still so sorry for doing that to you."

"Forgiven and forgotten. The point is, I won't ask."

There was a pause. She looked up at him. His heart was breaking as he looked at her tragic face.

He kept reassuring her. "It's okay. The rest of us all know what is going on here. And so we are all going to support you in this battle. We're going to stick together in this fight. It's the only way to defeat those.. things.."

"Okay.."

Then Taichi said simply, "I love you."

She looked down at the floor of the limo and huddled herself back into the crook of his arm again. Meanwhile the Korean limo driver stared straight ahead.

_Oh Taichi, I love you so much. But it's just my selfishness._

_I forced this marriage on you. For myself._

She thought some more.

_Or did I? Rina said I actually married you to try to prevent you from killing yourself._

_Did I?_

_I think maybe I did._

_And if I did.._

_.. that's not selfish._

She knew. Whatever was the actual unconscious reason for her pushing the marriage on him, she knew that she genuinely cared for him and his well-being. Not all of her motives were pure, but she knew that feeling was. She cared for him so deeply that she would sacrifice anything and everything to save him.

Even sacrifice herself.

No, that is not what a selfish person would do.

With that realization she smiled inwardly. And with that thought she was able look up into his eyes again. She said the words.

"I love you too."

* * *

The dinner was over. The young couple were riding in the back of the limo to return to their apartment.

Inaba was now sitting upright next to him. She was feeling much better. It was because the dinner went far better than she had expected.

Before the meal, Inaba had formally bowed and apologized to her father and to her husband for her disgraceful actions on her wedding day. She knew she had to do a formal apology to heal the rift that she felt was growing in her father's heart against her new husband. He father had suspected that Taichi had married her only for her money. It was because he believed that no man could be that selfless. He had felt it had to be a front, an act.

Her father took her apology graciously. The dinner proceeded without further incident. Inaba was happy that she saw no signs of animosity by her father towards Taichi. There was light conversation about Taichi's new position at the JRCS, their new shared apartment, and Inaba's job hunt. She told him the names of the companies that she was interviewing with. He approved her choices.

During the meal she was rather surprised when her father casually asked about Steve Anderson. Wait, how did he know that? She had told no one yet, not even Taichi.

She decided to come clean and explain her agreement to work for Steve Anderson under contract to create a track record of successful trading and to get a recommendation as a financial trader. Her father asked if she had a written agreement to that effect. She said she did. He opined that the arrangement seemed a little bit unorthodox, but he did not disapprove of it.

Inaba and Taichi were then surprised when an unexpected guest joined them for the second half of the dinner. It was a tall woman, forty-ish, with long dark purple-ish hair that framed her dark-gray eyes. She was wearing wire-rimmed glasses and business attire, and she stood tall and confident. Taichi could see that she looked rather attractive, with only a small hint of crows-feet around the corners of her eyes. Taichi and Inaba both stood to accept the new guest's bowed greeting. He noticed that she had no ring.

She introduced herself as Miyabi Sakuraba. She was the CEO of Hanabishi-Sakuraba (H-S), the textile and retail subsidiary that Inaba's father had acquired two years prior from Kaoru Honjou*, who then retired with his beautiful wife, Aoi, to travel the world as a philanthropist.

Sakuraba was a rising star in the H-S organization, and based on Honjou's recommendation Inaba's father had assigned Sakuraba as the CEO of the H-S subsidiary. It operated independently under her exceptional leadership. The firm was now one of the best performers in his _keiretsu_.

Inaba correctly guessed the reason for her invitation to the meal. Her father was introducing Miyabi to his daughter in the hope that she would one day become Inaba's mentor and guide when Inaba began her ascension in her father's empire.

Inaba had briefly met Sakuraba once before, at the H-S mansion during the acquisition negotiations while she was still in college. Inaba recalled that she was impressed with Sakuraba's prim and crisp efficiency, as did her father. But she could tell that Miyabi also had a hidden softer side, and she guessed that Miyabi was actually warm and personable to her friends. Inaba hoped that she would see that side of her one day.

During the dinner there was a discussion with Miyabi about the arrangements for Inaba and her friends to stay as guests at the Sakuraba mansion (now a corporate retreat) for a short-term reunion of the StuCS. Miyabi said that she would be staying with them as well for at least the first couple days until they got settled in. Inaba suspected the reason was because her father wanted to keep tabs on them.

After the dinner her father had cocktails served for them on the veranda. The two women chatted pleasantly in the corner. Miyabi explained that the reason for her coming on the trip was not at the behest of Inaba's father, but rather for a much more personal and sentimental reason: she herself wanted to show them around the mansion to explain the history and significance of the estate, and that she herself had lived there with her young charge, Aoi Sakuraba, and Aoi's suitor Kaoru Hanabishi (who lived next door in the servant's quarters). They and their close friends had all lived there for two years during Kaoru and Aoi's long and tumultuous courtship, and she had many fond memories that she wanted to share. She believed those memories would be helpful to the next young generation of close friends as they lived together in the same place.

The old western-style mansion was an excellent choice for the reunion of the Pentagon. The basement had a sizable gym, which Miyabi believed could easily be adapted as a temporary physical therapy center for Yui Kiriyama. That way her rehabilitation could continue without her leaving the estate.

Inaba had another very good reason for proposing the use of the mansion: She would not have to share a bedroom with Iori. She knew that Iori was a very observant girl, and Inaba was going to have a hard enough time trying to keep her secret from her former rival without having to also sleep in the same room with her every night.

Miyabi and Inaba drifted into a corner and were discussing the logistics of setting up the mansion for the reunion. Meanwhile, Inaba's father then took the opportunity to pull Taichi aside. He said something that surprised him.

"Please take care of my daughter. She is all I have."

Taichi's reply was simple and sincere.

"I will."

* * *

Taichi let Inaba into the apartment first. Iori and Aoki were both waiting for them.

Things began to get awkward. Until this moment, Inaba and Iori had barely seen each other. Between Kiriyama's recovery and Iori's returning to Goru, they had spent hardly any time together. It had been three and a half years since their failing out.

And in a short while they were going to be laying alone together on a shared futon.

They had never made up from their huge fight over three years ago. Neither had apologized.

Iori waved meekly. "Hey.."

Inaba was just as shy. "Hey.."

"You look good."

"So do you." Iori's bruise over her left eye had healed, and the dark circles under her eyes were gone. Inaba thought she looked well rested now, if still a bit thin.

They remained standing a few feet apart, each staring down at the floor in awkward silence.

Taichi was stationed behind Inaba. He realized he needed to coax things along. He motioned with his eyes to Aoki. The large man caught the gesture and quietly positioned himself behind Iori.

Taichi slightly nodded his head in a countdown. 3..2..1..

And then both men shoved the two women together. Iori tripped and fell into Inaba's arms with an "oof!"

Inaba was just able to keep Iori upright. She hollered, "You dumb jerks, stop it!"

The married woman then gently pulled up her former rival. "You okay? I'll kill them later."

"I'm fine, thanks."

They were now embracing each other for the first time in years.

"You know, I missed you."

"How come you never called?"

"I was waiting for you."

"And I was waiting for you."

Iori said, "We're idiots."

She was still smiling. Then she smirked.

Then Inaba smirked too. Then they both giggled. They started cracking up together.

After the laugh fit ended, Inaba asked, "Friends?"

Iori put her head on Inaba's shoulder. "Friends forever."

Inaba hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too."

Iori then pulled back and looked disapprovingly at the two men. "Uh guys, do you mind?"

Taichi and Aoki took the hint and made themselves scarce.

* * *

Iori and Inaba were lying down on the large futon in the main bedroom. They were both wearing pajamas. A body pillow laid between them to mark the DMZ.

Iori was laying on her stomach on top of her blanket with her legs up. Her feet were crossing and uncrossing each other as she cracked her gum.

She propped herself up on her elbows to view Inaba over the body pillow. "Looks like you had a rough day."

"Yeah."

Iori took out her gum and stuck it behind her ear. "Tell you what. Let's just have fun tonight. No deep talk."

"Thanks."

"Just have fun. Pretend we're kids. A slumber party."

"Okay."

Iori moved away the body pillow that separated them. Then she stood up on the futon.

Inaba wondered what she was doing. "Hey.."

"Pillow fight!"

Without warning, Iori picked up and threw her pillow right at Inaba's head. She caught it with her face.

"Why you rotten.." Inaba sat up and picked up her own pillow and nailed Iori in the stomach.

Iori grabbed it and fired it back at Inaba's head again. This time Inaba dodged successfully, and in a smooth unbroken action she grabbed a second pilow with her other hand and flung it backhanded. She succeeded in knocking Iori down to her knees.

Iori fired again and missed. Inaba was just too quick. Then Iori made a malicious grin and jumped off the futon. She grabbed the sheet and yanked it hard, twirling Inaba right off the futon and onto the floor. Iori then scooped up the body pillow and dropped it lengthwise on top of Inaba, who instinctively grabbed it and held it against herself. She then started to sit up.

Then Iori yelled, "Bombs away!" and did a belly-flop right on top of the body pillow, forcing Inaba again on her back. Iori grabbed her wrists and held her down. "Gotcha!"

Inaba made a feral grin. She arched her back in an expert bridge and twisted out of Iori's hold almost effortlessly. She then flipped Iori with a camel clutch before swinging her around with a jackknife hold.

Iori was completely and expertly pinned to the floor.

Iori was stunned. "Whoa! I give up! Uncle!"

Inaba let go and grinned while panting. "I win."

Iori was amazed. "Dereban, that.. that was incredible! You pinned me down just like a pro wrestler on TV. Where in the world did you learn all those fancy moves?"

"Guess."

"Wait.. you mean..?"

"Heh."

"No way!"

"Yeah."

"Wow. How did that happen?"

"Let's clean up first."

Iori got up and helped Inaba put the bedroom back together again.

They were now laying under the covers with their heads on their pillows facing each other.

Iori simply said, "Details."

Inaba tried to explain. "You know how much of a wrestling nut Taichi is. Well, when we started sleeping together I was always the, uh, frisky one."

"Duh."

"Shush. Anyway, one day he joked that I was putting the moves on him just like a pro wrestler. As soon as he said it, it was like a lightbulb went on above our heads. So I grabbed him and ordered him to teach me some of his fancy pro wrestling moves, which he did."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah. Oh, don't worry, it's safe. Remember, it's not real. Pro wrestling is all fake. It's choreographed. Taichi says it is like a ballet. And I gotta admit, it is totally fun."

"Woooow.."

"I'm usually the star wrestler.."

Iori caught on. ".. and Taichi is the jobber who makes the star wrestler look good! Dereban! That is so awesome!"

"Yeah. It's fun."

"And that is sooo romantic. In a weird sick twisted way, I mean." She was joking. "Still, it is totally you and Taichi."

Inaba looked up at the ceiling wistfully. "Yeah, it is."

Meanwhile Iori scanned Inaba's wan expression. "You look tired."

"I am."

"You know, it's getting late. What say we get some sleep, okay?"

"Sure."

Then Inaba turned her head. "I really missed you. I'm still sorry."

"Hey, slumber party, remember? No deep talk. Just go to sleep."

Inaba ignored her. "Iori, thanks. I really needed this."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Sleep." Iori rolled over and was instantly snoring softly.

Inaba looked up at the ceiling. She smiled inwardly. She had forgotten how good Iori was at making everyone around her feel so much at ease. Inaba felt more at peace now than at any time since the wedding.

_Iori, thank you._

Inaba finally turned over and fell into a pleasant sleep.

Around 4AM Taichi quietly poked his head in to their bedroom to the check on the two of them. He saw that the two girls had forgotten to put back the body pillow for the DMZ. He smiled. Without the body pillow he saw that Inaba had rolled towards Iori. Her arm was now wrapped around Iori's waist.

Taichi recognized the body position. It was the one she normally took when sleeping with him.

He nodded to himself. Inaba was doing fine. He closed the door quietly, then he crept back to the second bedroom.

He sighed as he re-inserted his earplugs to block Aoki's snoring.

He was relieved that the two women had reconciled so quickly. Iori was probably their biggest asset in their battle against Heartseed, and he knew that if anyone could help Inaba in their fight to defeat him, it would be Iori.

He fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next day, the mini-bus pulled up to the door. Miyabi Sakuraba was the driver. She hailed the foursome and helped them load their luggage into the bus. Yui Kiriyama and her sister Anzu were already on board, sitting in the back. Aoki immediately ran down the aisle to join them.

As Miyabi drove the bus, she used the speaker system to narrate some history about the Sakuraba mansion. Originally one of the Sakuraba family's summer houses, it was built by the Sakurabas in the 1980s in the grand western style. It was modeled after the famous lodges in Glacier National Park in the United States. When the bus pulled up Taichi saw that it looked like a swiss chalet, with forest green shutters, tall dormers, and a high-pitched roof that was brick red in color. Several small balconies overlooked a lake. A small servant's building stood next door.

Taichi agreed with Inaba. It was a wonderful place for a quiet retreat.

Aoki jumped out and helped pull out the luggage. Iori and the others also got out. Anzu assisted Kiriyama on her steel arm canes to a waiting wheelchair.

Iori paused to take a good look at the great old mansion**. As she did so she nodded silently to herself.

Her mood was somber and her expression unreadable as she took in the view.

Inaba walked up beside her and asked, "Hey, you okay?"

Iori blinked, then she said. "I'm fine. Let's go explore this place. I'm sure it will be fun."

"Yeah, it looks pretty cool. Maybe we can discover a hidden secret passage behind the bookcase or something." They walked arm-in-arm towards the building.

Meanwhile, Iori continued to think about the mansion as they approached the door.

_So this is it._

_This is the place._

_This will be the crucible._

_This is where all secrets will be revealed._

_This is where all truths will be told._

_And by the time this is over,_

_The only question will be_

_Which of us will choose to live_

_And which of us will choose to die._

* * *

**A/N:**

* See _Ai Yori Aoshi_ (2002-2003). In that story Kaoru Honjou's name was Kaoru Hanabishi, but in the distant finale of the manga Kaoru had legally changed his surname to that of his beloved and dearly departed mother, Honjou, who was his father's secret mistress before he died. As soon as he was of age, Kaoru had repudiated his membership in the hated Hanabishi clan after the terrible physical abuse that he had suffered as a bastard orphan child within that extended household.

Kaoru's attempt at the end of _Ai Yori Aoshi_ to give away his legal inheritance of the Hanabishi firm to his slimy half-brother (also named Kaoru - the original Kaoru having been erased from the family's memory) had fallen through because their late grandfather's will had specifically stated that only the family member that married Aoi could inherit his estate. This was because of their grandfather's long-held desire to unite the two families to create the _zaibatsu_ Hanabishi-Sakuraba. (This is canon.) I am assuming that he added a second stipulation that the heir must neither sell nor transfer ownership of the zaibatsu for at least 10 years. This is a rather common restriction for a family-owned business. After the 10 year period had elapsed, Kaoru sold the ownership of Hanabishi-Sakuraba to Inaba's father and became a philanthropist with his wife Aoi in their retirement.

** In _Ai Yori Aoshi_ you can watch Miyabi's introduction of the Sakuraba mansion to Kaoru and Aoi in episode 4 ('Living Together'), starting at 12:40. The episode can be watched for free on FUNimation's channel on YouTube.

* * *

**A/N Update:**

I corrected a bunch of typos in this chapter and some previous ones. That really annoys me. Before I post a new chapter I always go back and carefully re-read it, like 10 times, and I still miss all the mistakes! I think it's because I've memorized the chapter as I banged it out, and then I only see what is already in my head, not on the screen.

So, dear reader, if do you spot any word omissions, transpositions, wrong homonyms, etc., please let me know so I can fix them. For example, sometimes I will omit word in a sentence, or transpose words two, or repeat an expression repeatedly. :-) The problem seems to be at the sentence level. I have no problem with spelling, and spell-check fixes that sort of thing anyway.

If you can, please PM me if you spot any errors in this (or any other) chapter, and my kitties and I will be very grateful to you. Thanks again for reading.

-HuuskerDu


	18. Unconditional Love

**Chapter 18: Unconditional Love**

The group entered the Sakuraba mansion for the official StuCS Reunion Retreat.

At the front door Miyabi Sakuraba had handed out maps of the layout of the house to each guest with their respective bedrooms circled. Each guest had their own bedroom, with Taichi and Inaba sharing the large master bedroom at the end of the upstairs hall, which Miyabi mentioned contained a beautiful antique four-poster bed. Iori got in a jibe about needing to install some stretched ropes around the bedposts to make a WWE wrestling ring, which confused Miyabi to no end and made Taichi's ears turn absolutely red. Inaba covered her mouth to hide her smirk.

While this was going on, Yui and her sister Anzu went downstairs with Aoki to inspect the basement gym, which was now set up as a physical therapy rehabilitation center for her three-times-a-day PT workout. The mansion had an old-style cage lift in the back, which facilitated Yui's access to the gym and the main floors of the house.

Inaba went to one of the sitting rooms to set up her home office. She installed her eight-core Xeon tower PC with four 20-inch flat panels and a secure L2TP/IPsec VPN link over a 100 megabit/s broadband connection straight to the Nikkei trading floor. The server-class PC contained the full Orion-III TMSS software suite, which Inaba had customized with a dozen high-powered macros and Java software plug-in modules that she had written herself.

Upon their initial entrance into the house, Miyabi had volunteered to give everyone a tour of the estate, but only Iori and Taichi took her up on it. She showed the pair around the inside of the mansion. It was lavishly furnished in the grand western style, with a main living room, various sitting rooms, a dining room, a library, and a communal kitchen. The main dining room contained a magnificent mahagony dining table with 16 high backed chairs. Several of the rooms had reproductions of Renaissance paintings and engravings by Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian, and Donatello. Taichi particularly admired the seven foot high grandfather clock in the main hallway with its gold-plated pendulum and weights. He had never seen such a large clock before.

As they stood before the clock, Miyabi told Taichi of the time almost twelve years ago when Tina's white ferret, Uzume, had fallen behind the tall clock and had gotten itself thoroughly wedged between the clock and the wall. It took the combined effort of Tina, Taeko, Kaoru, Aoi, and Miyabi (who finally used a crowbar) to shift the heavy clock sufficiently to free the pinned ferret from behind it and save it*. After Miyabi finally freed it, Uzume basically adopted Miyabi as its mother and became her devoted mascot for life, although Miyabi never did become entirely comfortable with the ferret's penchant for bringing her dead bugs as gift food offerings. The rescue of dear little Uzume was the first of many events in that mansion that eventually bonded its residents as friends that became as close as family.

Iori boggled at the size of the kitchen with its 12-ring gas stove, well-stocked walk-in pantry, commercial-grade freezer (which was full of meats and vegetables), forced-air convection oven, and 10-quart KitchenAide stand mixer. Miyabi had earlier offered to hire a chef or a caterer to prepare the meals for the group during the retreat, but Iori would have none of it. She insisted on doing all of the cooking herself. She planned to ask (although 'draft' might be a better word) Aoki as her sous chef.

Iori stayed behind to further explore the big kitchen while Miyabi left with Taichi to finish the rest of the tour by themselves. They walked up the main staircase to the second floor where she showed him all the bedrooms. At the start of the hall was Yui's room, followed by the bedrooms for Aoki, Anzu, and Iori. The main bedroom was at the end of the hall. Taichi noted that Aoki's bedroom was next door to Yui's, and it was the only pair of bedrooms that featured a double-sided interconnecting door with a lock on both sides. He wondered about that. Inaba had planned the living arrangements with Miyabi, so he doubted that assigning Yui and Aoki these particular rooms was a coincidence.

Later that evening Iori had presented a wonderful dinner for the group that consisted of miso soup with mussels, grilled mackerel, tempura-battered shrimp and vegetables, brown rice, and a delightful yuzu crème brûlée for dessert. The group lavishly complimented Iori on her chef skills, which she simply waived off as she pointed out that her sous chef had done most of the actual work under her guidance.

After the meal the group moved to the living room and relaxed with tea while sitting in front of the fireplace. Aoki sat with Yui on one of the couches but stayed at least a meter away from her. After some general gabbing, the topic of discussion shifted to what each of them had been up to during the past several years. Mostly this was for Yui's benefit, of course, but it was also a good opportunity for each of them to bring the others up to date about the time during which they were apart.

Taichi and Inaba briefly described their college years, which they claimed were uneventful. Aoki explained that there wasn't much for him to tell since he was in prison during most of that time. Iori also claimed her life was mundane and that there wasn't much to tell.

Yui looked disappointed. "I would have thought your lives would have been more interesting. I guess I didn't miss much while I was gone?"

Inaba shrugged, "Nope, guess not."

But Iori knew better. _We are all holding back. It's too soon to share our secrets with all of us present._

Inaba finally announced she was crashing for the night and went upstairs. And with that, the group broke up one by one. Each of them said their goodnights and went to bed.

Eventually only Taichi and Iori remained.

Taichi said aloud what Iori was thinking. "We're not yet ready to confide in each other. Not as a group anyway."

"No, we're not ready."

"We just need to give it time."

"Yep." And with that Iori stood up and prepared to leave.

Taichi stood up too. Then he said, "Iori, wait..."

She turned around. "Mmm?"

"Please, don't badger Inaba about her secret. I promised her I wouldn't ask her about it."

"Good. You did the right thing."

"I did? Thanks."

"Don't worry, when she's ready she'll volunteer to tell me it herself, I think."

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah. But it might take some time. We'll see. I'm glad you and Inaban made this retreat open ended so there is no deadline pressure."

Taichi put he hands in his pockets. "We'll just let things develop and see what happens. Although I'm bummed I have to be gone working, so you will be with her yourself most of the time."

Iori shrugged. "Well, that can't be helped because of your new job. At least you'll be here with us on the weekends, right? Or will you be working overtime as well?"

"Nope. Kurosawa-sensei insisted I not work overtime during the retreat. He said I had to put priority on my family right now."

"Sweet. Most bosses wouldn't do that."

"I know. He's a great mentor."

Iori smiled. "I'm glad. You're a lucky guy. Inaba is lucky too. I wish I was in her shoes."

Iori immediately regretted saying that last sentence. It was an accident. She mentally kicked herself for it. An awkward silence followed.

Finally Taichi said, "Uh, well, goodnight I guess." He did a small wave. He did not approach.

Iori remained silent and did not move. She could say or do nothing to take back the implication. It was too late. And any mask that she might throw up now would be seen for what it was.

He hesitated, unsure of himself. Then he turned and went upstairs.

Iori sighed quietly and sat back down on the couch. She vowed not to let her guard down like that again.

* * *

Iori was now by herself. She continued to sit in front of the fireplace and watched the fire. She absently touched her left wrist with her good right hand as the flames danced in front of her eyes.

Then she stood up and poked the fire and sat back down again. She waited several minutes.

Nothing happened. She poked the fire again. No one shuffled back down the stairs to talk to her in a monotone voice.

After several more minutes she looked up at the ceiling and announced, "Heartseed, if you can hear me, I want to talk with you. I know you can read my mind."

Silence.

"I have a deal for you. An offer. I'm sure it will entertain you."

She turned to watch the staircase. No one shuffled down.

Finally she gave up and went to bed.

Iori left her bedroom door unlocked, but she had no secret visitors to her bedroom that night.

But someone else that night did have a secret visitor.

* * *

Aoki was blissfully dreaming. In his dream he and Yui were running along a sandy beach. She was laughing as she turned to look at him, with her long strawberry-blond hair blowing in the wind. They stopped at the ocean's edge as she continued to gaze at him lovingly with her bright emerald eyes. The warm gentle waves lapped their feet. She said, "Oh Yoshi.." Then she approached him as if she was going to kiss him.

He stepped back. "Yui.. don't.. this is dangerous."

She quickly drew up very close to him. "I don't care anymore. I love you too much." Her honey lips began to touch his.

"But Yui.. be careful.. you should stop.."

Then he felt a push on his shoulder.

He mumbled, "All right.. you can kiss me again.. but only because you insist.."

Someone kept pushing his shoulder. "Yoshi? Wake up."

Aoki gasped and sat bolt upright in bed. He grabbed the arm that was pushing his shoulder. Dang it, that dream was so nice, but the imagery was already slipping away from his mind.

He started to get angry at the person who had awakened him. He was getting tired of Iori's games. As he held her arm he said, "Iori, knock it off. You messed up a perfect dream."

The girl who was pushing his shoulder in the dark said, "I'm not Iori, silly. It's me."

He recognized the voice. Aoki released the arm as if it was made of molten lead. He yelled, "I'm sorry! Please don't panic!"

"Yoshi, shush. You'll wake up the whole floor. I'm sorry I surprised you. The interconnecting door wasn't locked on your side."

Aoki leaned over and fumbled for the bedside lamp switch. As his eyes adjusted to the lamp's glare, he saw that it was indeed Yui. She was sitting in her wheelchair at his bedside. She was wearing cotton pajamas that were embroidered with blue teddy bears, green frogs, and pink kittens. A warm blanket covered her lap.

Aoki was alarmed. "Yui, I'm so sorry I grabbed you! Please don't freak out! Breathe! Breathe!"

She tried to calm down the large panicky man. "Relax. If I'm flustered it's because your yelling is scaring me more than anything. Please, calm down."

He quickly lowered his voice. "Yui, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Yoshi, I'm fine. I just wanted to talk with you, that's all. In private."

"P-private?"

"I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just that I haven't had a chance to talk with you alone since the accident. There's always been somebody hovering nearby."

That was true. It seemed there was always somebody else with her, be it her sister Anzu, her parents, the PT staff, or other visiting friends. When Aoki had visited her the previous day, Iori and Anzu were both with them.

"But why?"

"Because I want to apologize. To you. Alone and in private."

"Whatever for?"

"For the horrible things I did to you. For putting you in prison. For ruining your life."

His face softened. "Yui, you did nothing wrong. I already told you there is nothing to forgive, but if you want me to forgive you again then I do. I meant that then, and I still do now."

"I know you do. But you're wrong. It was my fault. Iori, Inaba, and Taichi blamed themselves and each other for what happened, and you blamed yourself most of all. But the one at fault wasn't any of you, it was me. It was my own foolish act that put you in prison. I was the one who insisted on the bear hug, and I was the one who had planned and practiced that illegal head-butt martial-arts move, and I was the one who put myself into a coma because of it. You were completely innocent. You languished in prison for years because of me. It was all my fault."

Aoki said quietly, "I don't believe that. And even if I did, it doesn't matter. I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Even if you attacked me and stabbed me in the heart and killed me, I would still love you. And I always will."

She looked at him. "Yoshi, please, you need to listen to me. I don't know how to react when you say things like that. I don't know what to say.."

He smiled. "You could say 'Yes'."

"Yes to what?"

"To my proposal. Marry me."

She gave him a sad look. "Yoshi, please. Just stop. You're not listening."

"I love you."

"I said stop! Listen to me!"

He remained respectfully quiet and waited for her to continue.

She went on. "Don't you see? You keep putting on me this high pedestal like I'm some perfect Arthurian princess. You worship me as if you are Sir Lancelot and I'm Guinevere. But I'm not. I'm not some royal princess. I'm just a regular girl. There's nothing special about me."

"Of course you are special."

"No I'm not. I'm not a rich genius like Inaba, or a beautiful charmer like Iori, or a heroic rescuer like Taichi, or a knight in shining armor like you. I have no special abilities or qualities. I'm just an ordinary girl with a phobia hangup, and that's it. There's nothing special about me. Nothing at all."

"I don't believe that. Of course you're special. You're a fighter, a black-belt tournament champion, and you're beautiful, and a miraculous survivor - the recipient of what I believe to be a God-given miracle."

"Yoshi, please. I haven't fought in a tournament since middle-school, and I'm not beautiful, and I don't know why that miracle happened, but I didn't deserve that either."

Aoki got out of bed and knelt before her. "Yui, you are the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

Yui was getting exasperated. "Will you please just stop it. You're not listening. Don't you see? You're doing it again."

She leaned forward in her chair. "Yoshi, you really are a wonderful person, but I can't understand why such a wonderful man like you loves me so much. I'm not worthy of your adoration. I can't meet your impossibly high standards. I'm sorry, but you need to understand that I'm not the most beautiful woman in the world. You need to listen to me."

Aoki said quietly, "With respect, I think you are the one who is not listening."

That surprised her. "Yoshi, whatever do you mean?"

"I did not say, 'You are the most beautiful woman in the world.' What I said was, 'You are the most beautiful woman in the world _to me_.'"

"Oh.."

"And no, you did not deserve that miracle either."

"I didn't?"

"No, you didn't. Nobody deserves a miracle. That's why they are called miracles."

He took a deep breath. He then quietly said something that was completely unexpected. It shocked her.

"And, Yui Kiriyama, you don't deserve my unconditional love."

Yui had never heard those words before. She was stunned.

These were not the words of the Yoshifumi Aoki of four years ago. He was no longer the naïve puppy-eyed high school student of her youth.

For you see, his long purgatory inside of prison had done something that up to now was far beyond her realization.

He had grown up.

Those surprising words went to the crux of the problem in their relationship: That Aoki always went overboard in his undying proclamations of love for her.

It was why she had always rejected him. His love confessions were overwhelming. She had believed that he loved some ideal fantasy girl, a perfect Walt Disney princess, and that he had projected that fantasy image on to herself. This was why she couldn't love him in return. She was always worried that if she ever confessed to him, if she ever gave in to that overwhelming force of love, that surely his image of her would shatter like glass when he discovered the real Yui Kiriyama: an ordinary girl who was somewhat shy. She knew she was utterly unworthy of his perfect image of her.

But here he had just told her he agreed with her own view of the situation. He just said she didn't deserve his love. Huh?

"Yoshi, I don't understand. You are agreeing with me that I don't deserve you? Then why do you keep saying that you love me?"

He smiled. "Again you didn't listen to me. I said you don't deserve my _unconditional_ love. That's because nobody does. That's why it's unconditional: it is something that you receive whether you deserve it or not."

She looked down. No, she did not deserve him. It was the reason she continually rebuffed him. And yet here he had just said he had known that. It was why it was unconditional. She marvelled at him. Yoshifumi Aoki was showing a level of maturity that she had never seen from him before.

She said in a small voice. "But Yoshi, if you know I'm undeserving, why are you still so infatuated with me?"

"Well, love isn't something that can be explained logically. I fell in love with you the first moment I ever saw you, going back all the way to our freshman year in high school when I walked into the StuCS clubroom and saw you standing there. Call it intuition, call it instinct, but I knew right then you were the one for me. I know you realize you don't deserve it, and I certainly can't justify it, and yet it's always been there. And my love for you has never wavered. I honestly don't know why."

She remained silent. She had originally entered his bedroom that night with the intention of asking him to end his relationship with her. But now she changed her mind. It was because she now knew that he was no longer a hopelessly deluded teenage boy with stars in his eyes. Whatever feelings he had felt for her then, she now knew that it was not puppy love. Not any more. After the passage of years, after the purgatory of prison, after remaining faithful and true even when he was told she would never wake up again, she knew. His love was real.

Aoki went on. "Yui, it's okay. Thank you for telling me that I'm overwhelming you. No wonder you're so scared of me. I admit my feelings are inexplicable. If I was in your shoes I'd probably be scared of me too. I must look like a stalker. I'm sorry."

Yui reached out and held his hand. "Oh no, Yoshi. I've never been afraid of you. You're the sweetest man I've ever met. Look, I am holding your hand, see? I'm only a little bit nervous right now. That is because I know you're my dear friend. In fact, I consider you my best friend. "

"Yui, I'm so happy to hear you say that."

"You just have to remember that I have this little mental hangup. Just don't try to bowl me over so much, okay?"

"Right. I'll be more careful from now on."

The butterflies in her stomach grew a bit. Her feelings were in such conflict. She had come into the room with the intent of breaking up with him. But now she couldn't do that. How could she deny such genuine unconditional love?

After all he had gone through, there was no way she could hurt him like that. Originally she had planned to say, 'If you love me then let me go.' But not now. Not to the man that showed her such wisdom and growing maturity.

She would have to think things through again. She had much to consider. The retreat was open ended, so they would be together for several more days, possibly weeks. She knew that if she reciprocated that there would be no going back.

She needed time.

"Yoshi, if you can please help me kick this annoying phobia that I have, well then maybe.." She pulled back her hand and touched it with her other hand, feeling his warmth transfer with it.

"Yes?" He had that eager puppy-dog look on his face again.

She signed inwardly. _Oh, my dear Yoshi, just when I think you've finally grown up, you lapse back into boyhood again. Do I love you? I could never love that teenage boy. It was too fast, too overwhelming, and we were both too immature. But now? I never dared even think of it before. But maybe, if you keep on maturing like this, if you continue to grow up, perhaps some day I can._

".. then maybe I can finally return your feelings."

He smiled. "I can wait. As long as it takes."

"I know, bless you."

"My philosophy is to take life as it comes, one day at a time. So I won't fret or worry about the future."

"Thank you."

Then he said, "It's getting late and you need your rest. Would you like me to push your chair back to your room?"

"No, that's all right. I want to do it myself. Goodnight, Yoshi."

He climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up. "Goodnight, my love."

He looked so adorable with the covers pulled up to his chin. She felt a warmth growing within her. If it wasn't for her annoying phobia she might have even kissed the forehead of her gallant knight goodnight.

But instead she put her hand into the pocket of her pajamas. She had an idea.

"Is it true, my good sir knight, that it is customary for a royal princess to give her champion a token to show him her favor?"

"Yes. Usually a veil or a handkerchief."

She searched her pocket. "Oh dear, all I have is a kleenex."

"That will do. I hope it's unused."

She laughed. "It's clean! I promise!" She carefully unfolded the white kleenex ahd and held it out. "Here is my token of favor, good sir knight."

He gently took it. "Thank you, my royal princess. I will cherish it always."

"Just don't sneeze on it." They both laughed.

"Yui, it's late. You need your sleep."

"Goodnight, Yoshi." She left.

He stayed awake for several minutes as he studied the white kleenex. Yes, he would always love her. He would honor and cherish his princess forever. But he also resolved to work harder to see and understand their relationship from her point of view.

Eventually he carefully folded the kleenex on the side table.

He continued to look at it. Finally he went to sleep.

And he had a pleasant dream.

* * *

It was early morning and the sun was was just peeking over the horizon, still hidden in the trees. Yui and Aoki were already up and dressed and sitting on the L-shaped couch in the main living room.

Yui was drinking tea. Taichi came down and joined them, teacup in hand. "Good morning."

The pair responded, "Good morning!"

Taichi sat down with them. "Well, you two certainly look bright and cheerful for so early in the morning."

Taichi noticed that Aoki had something white peeking out of the top of his breast pocket, the way men sometimes inserted a folded cloth handkerchief into the pocket of a good dress suit - called a pocket square. To Taichi it seemed a bit overly formal for Aoki's plain tunic. And the handkerchief looked like paper.

Before Taichi could comment on it, Yui asked him about Aoki's employment situation. Taichi started to explain that he was going to see what he could do about that, but before he could finish the trio heard a ruckus upstairs. Inaba was yelling and sounded angry. Soon Iori was running downstairs in her bathrobe. At the bannister Inaba leaned over the side and yelled, "Hey, give me back my hairbrush!"

Iori giggled like a child and ran into the living room with the hairbrush in hand. She rushed past the trio and ducked into the library. Inaba was not far behind. She ran into the living room barefoot also wearing nothing but her bathrobe. She stopped in front of the trio.

"Did you see which way she went?"

All three pointed at the library.

"Thank you!" Inaba ran in that direction. "Iori, I'm gonna twist you into a pretzel!"

The trio could hear Inaba in the library. "Come out! Wait, where the heck did you go?"

There was silence. Then Inaba backtracked and again stood in front of the trio with her fists on her hips. "Okay, you wiseguys, she's not in there. Which way did she really go?"

Yui spoke up in their defense. "It's true. She went into the library. Honestly, she did."

Inaba looked at her. She knew that those two lunkheads might mess with her, but never Yui. Inaba knew that she was neither the playful nor mischievous type. She was telling the truth.

Inaba turned around and started to walk carefully towards the library doors. She muttered, "Oh, so help me, I'm gonna give that girl a pile driver followed by a body slam, and then..." She continued to mutter vile WWE oaths as she marched back into the library.

After she was out of earshot Taichi said dryly, "Secret passage." Inaba had skipped Miyabi's tour.

They could hear Inaba in the other room. "I know you're in here.."

A moment later a hidden panel popped open in the living room, and the trio watched Iori creep out. She made a 'shush' sign with her raised index finger, then she went silently back upstairs to replace the hairbrush on Inaba's dresser.

Aoki and Taichi sniggered.

Yui tsk-tsked. "Those two girls are both acting like children."

Taichi drank his tea. "Yes, thanks to Iori. She's helping Inaba take her mind off things."

"I see."

_Iori, bless you._

* * *

About an hour later Iori served breakfast out on the veranda. It was a cloudless day and the temperature was already getting warm with the morning sun. Iori received another round of praise for her culinary expertise with her exquisite salmon, mushroom, and rice omelettes. Iori pointed out that Aoki had cooked the eggs for the omelettes.

The breakfast was nearing its end. Inaba and Iori were seated next to each other, whispering back-and-forth animatedly. Inaba had apparently either forgiven or had forgotten the hairbrush incident.

Then they both turned and looked at Taichi. Inaba said thoughtfully, "Hmm.. that's a good question. What do you think, Iori?"

"Well, hmm. It would have to be a girl with moxie. A Type-A personality."

"Like you or me."

"Yeah."

Taichi put down his chopsticks. "Ladies, may I ask what it is you two are gossipping about?"

Iori smiled, "You."

"What, me?"

Inaba leaned forward. "We're trying to figure out which girl at Yamaboshi Academy would have scooped you up if neither Iori nor I went to school there."

Aoki put down his own chopsticks and leaned back thoughtfully. "Hmm, that is an interesting question. Let me think.."

Meanwhile Taichi exclaimed, "What? Hey!"

They all ignored him. Aoki thought for a moment. "I vote for Fujishima. She was the most Type-A girl in the school. She terrified me."

Iori and Inaba both shook their heads. Iori said, "Naw. She's not his type. If anything, she always thought of Taichi as a rival."

Aoki nodded. "That's true. She was totally into you."

"You too."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Aoki remembered the meeting in her office where she was practically drooling over his muscular physique. She never looked at Taichi that way. "I think we can cross Fujishima off the list."

Inaba thought aloud, "Hmm. What about Shino Enjouji? She was always obsessed with his voice."

Aoki thought about it. "Naw, she was too shy. And frankly she wasn't his type either."

Inaba asked Iori, "So who do you think would have ended up with him?"

Iori said, "Hard to say. There are a lot of choices. He was super eligible, and still would be if he was single."

Aoki rested his head on his hands and sighed. "Tell me about it. All you girls were always fawning over him; I basically got ignored. I think even his sister Rina would have grabbed him if she could."

Taichi yelled, "Hey! Not funny!"

Iori disregarded his comment. She looked at Inaba. "Hmm, I think even if it was just me attending the school, and not you, I still never would have ended up with him. I just wasn't ready. One of the other Type-A girls would have grabbed him before I matured enough to be ready to try again."

Yui asked, "How about Yukina Kurihara?" Kurihara became one of Yui's friends in high school starting in their second year.

Inaba piped up, "You know, I like that. She dated a lot, and she was pretty outgoing. Definitely a Type-A."

Iori considered it. "Possibly, but I doubt it. Yeah, she dated a lot, but that was because a lot of guys asked her out. She liked being chased. It pumped her ego. But Taichi is not a chaser, he's a chasee."

Taichi groused, "You do realize I'm sitting right here.."

Inaba ignored his protest and thought some more. She turned to face Iori. "Wait, I got an idea. How about your friend, Kaoru Setouchi?"

Iori's eyes lit up. "Oooh! She's got moxie. She hired those thugs from another school to trash our clubroom, then she kidnapped you for crying out loud**. She definitely takes the initiative. Very Type-A."

Inaba nodded. "Yep. And in many ways she was a lot like you. She was always trying to fit in with a false exterior. She even admitted it after you smacked her with that palm strike. That's why you two became such close friends after the attack."

Iori jumped up. "Yes! She would remind Taichi of me so they would start noticing each other. And she always takes whatever she wants, by hook or crook. She'd definitely grab him. Of course. Yes, Setouchi, for sure."

Inaba said, "Definitely. She would become Mrs. Kaoru Yaegashi. No doubt."

Iori nodded, "Agreed. It's settled then."

Meanwhile Taichi did a facepalm.

Aoki piped up. "But wait, there is still one girl you haven't considered yet. She's charming, beautiful, strong, intelligent, wonderful.."

Then Inaba, Iori, and Aoki all looked at Yui, who started to feel flustered.

Simultaneously Inaba and Iori said, "Naw.."

Yui felt a bit offended. "And why not me? I mean hypothetically, of course."

It was because she liked Taichi as soon as she met him in the StuCS. She had always considered Taichi to be a good friend***. Yui had remembered that night early in their freshman year in the deserted park when she was alone with Taichi. She felt no fear of being alone with him in that situation, as she already knew that she could trust him implicitly. Indeed, he had helped her enormously in her struggle with her clinical androphobia by showing her a special martial-arts finishing move that would leave any male attacker writhing on the ground in pain after just one blow. She marvelled that he would injure his own body that way just to help her.

And Taichi was probably her closest male friend after Aoki.

Inaba said, "Yui, no offense, but you're not.."

Yui interrupted her. "I already know. It's because I know I'm not very attractive."

The entire table erupted in response. "No!" "That's not true!" "Of course you're attractive!" "Yui, you're the most beautiful girl in the world to me."

She shook her head. "You're just saying that so you don't hurt my feelings."

The others protested again. Inaba then confessed, "Yui, you are a very pretty girl. Honestly, you are way prettier than me. I know I'm not that attractive myself."

Another uproar. Taichi was particularly agitated. Finally Iori jumped up on the table and yelled, "SILENCE!"

She pointed her chopsticks at each of them as she faced them accusingly while standing on the table. "These insults cannot stand! I demand a contest! Honor must be satisfied!"

Aoki asked, "What, like a duel or a joust?"

"No, dummy. We were planning to go the beach today, right?"

Aoki responded, "Yeah, sometime after breakfast. Yui wants to try to swim a bit for her rehab."

Iori crossed her chopsticks across her front like a majordomo leading a parade. "Right. So it's settled then!"

Taichi asked, "What is settled?"

"We will have the official StuCS Reunion Beach Beauty Contest!"

Inaba looked up at Iori. "What?"

Aoki jumped up from his chair. "Yes! And Yui will win!"

Iori was still standing on the table, She pointed her chopsticks at him like a short sword. "I wouldn't be so sure, bucko." Then Iori tucked the chopsticks into her cloth belt, unbuttoned the top buttons on her blouse, and did a modeling pose. "It will be a very close contest. I know that Yui and Dereban are gonna give me a run for my money, but I think I can just barely eek out a win." She did another modeling pose as both men stared at her figure. Inaba had to whack Taichi on the head with her chopsticks.

Iori jumped off the table. "But I don't know if I can beat those two hotties now that they've grown up. The competition's gonna be really tough."

Inaba said, "Oh come on.."

Iori yelled, "Yahoo! Everyone get your beach gear. Yui, Dereban, I already picked out some swimsuits for you. C'mon, let's go!"

Aoki whooped, Yui blushed, Inaba frowned, and Taichi looked thoughtful.

* * *

Yui glared at Iori in the women's beach hut. "I am not wearing this." She was holding two white strips of fabric.

Iori pleaded, "Aw, c'mon. You'll look great in it."

"It's a.. a bikini!"

"That it is. I picked it out with Miss Sakuraba's help. I take it you've never worn one before?"

"No, of course not!"

Iori continued to encourage her. "Well, I can understand that. Back in high school you were pretty flat. But honey, you're 21 now, and Sleeping Beauty has awakened and she's all grown up. And you've filled out wonderfully. My word, Mother Nature has been very kind to you. Trust me, I swear to you that not only can you wear this and look amazing, but you will knock 'em out of the park."

"Are you.. sure?"

"Yes. Do it for Aoki. You will floor him."

That encouraged her. "You think it will?"

"Oh yeah."

Yui turned to her sister. "What do you think?"

Anzu smiled. "I think it will look lovely on you."

"Well, all right, if you both think so. Maybe it will help me get a better tan. I'm so pale I could blind someone at 50 paces."

Anzu said, "And after the contest you and I will work on your leg and arm exercises in the water. Swimming is an excellent form of PT for strength recovery. Let's go."

Anzu escorted Yui outside. Yui was now able to walk without her steel arm canes for short distances, but she still needed a spotter for safety. By unanimous consent she would be representing Team Kiriyama while laid out on a long beach chair.

Iori could see that Yui was taken care of. She turned and yelled, "Dereban! Hurry up!"

Inaba was still behind the curtain changing. She had waited until all the other girls had left before she quickly stripped and put on the yellow tube-top bikini that Iori had picked out for her. She turned and started to look at herself in the mirror. She wanted to make sure that her stomach wasn't showing.

But before she could check herself, Iori poked her head in. Iori was in a blue polka-dot bikini, and there was no longer a sling on her left arm. "Dereban, let's go!"

Then she caught sight of Inaba. She entered and stared at her figure. "Hey, did you get bigger?"

Inaba panicked. She grabbed her stomach. "Oh, ah, I've been eating too much lately. I know I need to lose a few pounds."

"No, dummy. I mean your boobs got bigger."

Inaba looked at herself in the mirror. She knew that pregnancy did that. But that didn't start to happen until the second trimester? Or was it the third? She couldn't remember.

Iori narrowed her eyes. "I gotta check this." Iori slid behind Inaba and grabbed her boobs from behind.

"Hey!"

"Wow, you really are bigger."

Inaba blushed. "Well, I, uh, drink a lot of milk."

"Apparently."

"Let go of me!"

Iori grinned as she released her hold. She looked at both of them in the mirror. "Dereban, look at yourself. You're gorgeous. I mean really, you are."

"Oh c'mon."

"Still, Yui's gonna whip us both. But I still got you beat by a whisker. So at least I won't be in last place."

That got Inaba's competitive hackles up. "You think? Hey, I can beat a scrawny girl like you. Good grief, your ribs are showing. You're as skinny as a rail."

"Exactly. Guys dig thin chicks. I'm just like a runway model in a catalog."

"Heroin-chic? Hah. You're scrawny."

"Thin."

"Scrawwny."

"Thiinn."

"Scraaawwwny!"

"Thhhhiiin!"

Miyabi Sakuraba re-entered the tent. "Are you two ladies ready yet? Everyone out here is waiting for you."

Iori taunted her. "C'mon, Dereban, let's go so I can whip your padded ass."

"Game on!"

The three of them were lined up. Iori was making poses. Inaba watched her like a hawk, then she matched all the poses move for move. Yui smiled at her competitors. She seemed oddly relaxed. She was wearing sunglasses and was laying on the beach chair getting her tan. She decided that she was simply going to let Mother Nature do all the work for her in winning the competition. She closed her eyes in the glare of the sun.

Taichi admired all three beauties. Then he sighed as he looked at Aoki's champion surfer physique, then at himself. He was glad that the contest was only for the women, otherwise he felt he would have been in last place.

Miyabi, who was wearing a tasteful one-piece bathing suit, then announced "Attention! This is the official StuCS Reunion Beach Beauty Contest. Each non-participant may cast one vote. The winner will be awarded the title of StuCS Beach Beauty Queen."

She looked at Taichi. "Mr. Yaegashi, may I have your vote please?"

He immediately said, "Inaba."

"Thank you. And Mr. Aoki, sir?"

The large man jumped up. "Yoshifumi Aoki votes for Yui Kiriyama!" Yui made a small smile with her eyes still closed.

"Thank you. I will vote for Iori Nagase."

"Yahoo!"

Inaba sighed, "And so the contest is tied 1-1-1. Of course. That's exactly what I figured."

Sakuraba spoke up. "Not so fast. There is still one more vote to tally."

"There is?"

Anzu Kiriyama spoke quietly. "I vote for Yui."

Miyabi said simply, "The winner is Yui Kiriyama. Congratulations."

Yui raised up her sunglasses. "Thank you."

Aoki went wild. "Yes! Yui wins! Yeeehah!"

He then caught himself and quickly bowed before Iori and Inaba, "I'm sorry about that."

Inaba harrumphed.

The Aoki put his foot in it. "Well, what can I say? Compared to perfection, you two just aren't in the same league. Not even close."

The two brunettes shot daggers at him. Iori yelled, "Dereban! Do a camel clutch hold! Pin him down!"

Before Aoki knew it he was spread-eagled on his back. Then Iori grabbed a bucket and started dumping sand on his chest. "How you like being buried alive, jerk-o?"

"Taichi! Save me!"

"Dude, you brought this on yourself. Inaba, that's really good wrestling form."

"Thank you."

The sand pile continued to build on Aoki's chest. He squirmed to no avail. Inaba held his limbs fast as Iori continued to dump buckets on him.

"Get these she-devils off me!"

Meanwhile Yui sat up. She was suppressing a laugh.

Anzu assisted Yui as she stood up. Yui's sister picked up a red flotation device next to the beach chair, and the pair slowly walked toward the water together for their PT swim session.

Aoki tried to raise his head towards the retreating pair. "Yui, help me! Tell them to stop burying me before I suffocate!"

Yui hesitated and turned. "Will Yoshi be okay?"

Inaba looked up at Yui and huffed, "Don't worry. We'll only smother him to within an inch of his life."

"Ah. See you later, Yoshi. You may join Anzu and I when you can extracate yourself."

"Arrghhh!"

* * *

The next day, Inaba used the heater on her laser printer to help Aoki laminate his 'token of favor' in clear plastic so it would not disintegrate. He wore it proudly in his breast pocket anywhere he went.

And so the days passed.

Iori continued to keep Inaba in high spirits. The others helped as well.

One day Rina showed up to visit and say hi to her dear onii-chan. At first Inaba freaked out, but then she quickly realized that it was the real Rina. Inaba freaked out a second time when Rina tried to give the newly wed woman some tips on how to please her man. Taichi prayed that it was because Rina liked to read Cosmopolitan a lot.

One night Iori was alone in her bedroom. It was about 9 PM. She had not undressed for bed yet.

She was laying on her stomach on her bed, reading a fashion magazine. Her bedroom door was open.

Inaba knocked on the doorframe. "Mind if I come in?"

"Inaban! Sure, c'mon in."

Inaba walked to a chair in front of the dresser and mirror. She rotated the chair to face Iori on the bed and sat on it.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for our big fight. I should never have said those words. I'm sorry."

"Pshaw. You still having a guilt trip about that? Water over the bridge. Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry I called you a soulless freak."

Iori chuckled, "Yeah, that was kinda harsh. Of course I was pretty wound up too. I called you a timid mouse if you recall."

Then Inaba said, "I know what you've been doing lately. Keeping my spirits up."

Iori simply smiled at her friend. "Hey.."

"I bet Taichi has thanked you a dozen times by now."

"More like two dozen, heh."

"Well, I should thank you too."

Iori sat up. "You don't have to. We're friends for life. And that's what we do, we help each other with no expectation in return. You saved my life too, you know."

"Still I want to thank you. For everything." Inaba stood up. She was getting tearful. "I know I'm not the huggy, touchy-feely, type of person.."

Iori understood. She stood up and approached.

And then Inaba grabbed her and embraced her and held her as tightly as she could.

* * *

One afternoon Iori and Inaba were sharing the sauna together. Their sweat soaked into the white bathtowels that were wrapped around each of their torsos.

They had been relaxing for several minutes when Inaba spoke out of the blue, "I'm sorry."

Iori immediately knew what Inaba was referring to.

"Stop apologizing. I already told you I never would have ended up with him."

"But.."

"I told you. I was the one who rejected him. I was too young. I wasn't ready."

"I know that, but still, maybe if.."

"Stop. Dereban, you're perfect for him. You're exactly the girl he needed. You still are, and always will be."

"Feh."

"I'm serious. You two are perfect opposites. That's why you mesh so well."

"Okay, then explain it to me: Why do Taichi and I have so many fights all the time?"

"You don't have fights. He never fights you. _You_ walk out on _him_. Why do you keep on doing that, anyway?"

"I dunno.. He just irritates me sometimes."

"No. It's you."

She sighed, "Yeah, you're right. It's not him, it's me."

"Inaban, you're a mess. You need help."

"Just like you, eh? Just like the help you're not getting for your screwed up life? You're doing an expert job hiding it, by the way."

"Mmm?"

"Keeping the attention off yourself, your rotten life. All this time together and it's never come up."

Iori was silent.

"You haven't told me or anyone else anything about your life after you left Reika. What happened between the time you left home and the time when you ended up with Goru?"

Iori shrugged, "Like I said on the first day here, there isn't much to tell."

"Bull[bleep]. Talk."

Iori crossed her arms. "Oh, now look who's expertly changing the subject. I ask you again, why do you keep walking out on Taichi?"

"Okay, fine. Fine! Let's keep the focus on me."

Inaba thought a moment. Then she took a deep breath.

"If you want my honest answer: I don't [bleeping] know."

"You don't know?"

"He's just so, well, nice, that it drives me up a wall sometimes. I know that makes no sense. Day in and day out, he's always Mr. Goody Goody Perfect. And he never changes. And I should be delighted right? And some days I am. I really am. I love him so much it's insane. And then other times his nicey-niceyness just, well, it gets to me. It's like I can never get through his thick skull that maybe sometimes I want to be unhappy, so just back off."

"Wait, you want to be unhappy?"

"Okay, that sounded stupid. Let me try again. I dunno, I guess I just want him to understand what it's like when I feel like crap. He tries, but he can't. He just doesn't get it. It's like it is beyond his comprehension. I think it's because he's never experienced that kind of pain. He's never been really hurt in his life. Hurt emotionally, I mean. He just doesn't know what it's like to feel the way I do sometimes. And so when I'm down in the dumps and he starts patronizing me, I just want to explode back at him and kick him into the next time zone."

"Dereban.."

"And so sometimes, maybe, I wonder. I just wonder what his life would have been like if he was with someone else. Some who wasn't so messed up. Someone who was more level-headed. More warm. More patient. More empathic."

Inaba looked up and said softly, "Someone like you."

"Hey.."

"Iori, what would have happened if I wasn't around back then? I mean, what if I didn't exist?"

Iori was surprised. "What kind of dumb stupid question is that?"

She looked down. "I dunno, I just think about it sometimes. I'm just saying.. hypothetically, do you think you would have ended up with him? I mean for real, not that silly stuff at the breakfast table."

Iori said quietly, "No."

"But why not? Are you sure? You'd be soooo much better for him than me. You could have.. saved him.."

Iori was alarmed. She hid her reaction. She began to think.

_Inaban, you just said 'saved', past tense, like you had already lost him! What's going on?_

Iori said carefully, "Well, then there's Heartseed too, you know. He's back again, throwing a wrench into the works, running his stupid tests again."

Inaba looked out into space. "Yeah.."

Now Iori's mind was spinning. Her alarm grew.

_Whoa! Inaban, what is this?_

Iori was shocked. It was because of Inaba's reaction to her mention of Heartseed's name, or rather her complete lack of a reaction. She remained impassive; she didn't explode and cuss Heartseed out. Iori knew that Inaba hated Heartseed with a passion, and that she hated him more than anyone else did in the Pentagon, and yet here she was sounding almost wistful in talking about their greatest shared enemy.

_What in the world is going on here?_

And then, Iori knew. She knew it instinctively from Inaba's lack of reaction.

_She's not angry or bitter about Heartseed. So whoever has trapped her, it was not him. That has to be the reason._

She tried to work out the implications. Inaba had confessed to Taichi that the trap was related to Heartseed. She admitted it outright in the limo. So the trap had to have been laid by some other entity that was like Heartseed or related to him.

But which one?

Was it Number Two? Possibly, but she was one of Heartseed's underlings, or possibly just another manifestation of the same entity. In either case Iori knew that Heartseed and Number Two worked together, although sometimes they disagreed on their methods. Heartseed and Number Two did not always see eye to eye. So they had to be separate entities, then.

But wait, wasn't there a third entity? The so-called Number Three? Iori remembered that was the nasty one. And wasn't Heartseed afraid of her or something? They definitely were not working together. Could they be enemies? So assume she is Heartseed's opponent then.

And what if this Number Three made a secret deal with Inaba to join forces against Heartseed?

Iori again spoke carefully. "Heartseed really did a job on you."

"Yeah." Again impassive. It confirmed Iori's suspicion.

Iori pleaded with her friend. "Inaban, please tell me what happened. I can help. I promise I will never tell Taichi your secret unless you want me to."

Inaban gave her a sharp look. "No, you can't help. I know you want to help me, but you can't. This is my battle, and I have to fight it alone."

"Inaban, can't you hear yourself? You know that never works! Let me help! Don't you trust me?"

"I.. I just can't.."

Tears flowed from Inaba's eyes. Those tears overwhelmed even the sweat that was already streaming down her cheeks in salty rivulets. "Don't you think I want to? Think about it. Assume I confide in you, but that you had ended up with Taichi because of it."

"Dereban, I told you, that never would have happened."

"Shut up! I don't mean the past, I mean the future!"

Iori was stunned into silence.

_I don't get it. What is she talking about?_

"Iori, you and I are more alike than either of us ever realized. There is a very good reason why I cannot tell you. Think. Think! You know how guilty I can feel sometimes."

"Heh, yeah, tell me about it. You are practically the queen of guilt. Dereban, are you sure you aren't Catholic?"

"Shut up, I'm not joking here! What I am trying to say is, work it out. Think. Imagine what would happen if I told you my secret, and you tried to help, but I end up.. going away.. Then what happens next? What kind of guilt would you feel afterwards if it was just you and Taichi? If you had a hand in it? Even unwittingly?"

Iori again remained silent.

Inaba went on. "Think about it. I'm gone, and there he is, lost and alone. After his heart gets ripped out he will need someone to help him heal. Someone to confide in. Someone who understands. Someone who understands him, and me, and Heartseed, and all the battles we fought. Someone who really cares for him."

Inaba looked Iori straight in the eye. "Someone who loves him."

"Iori, it's inevitable. I don't want you to feel guilty when it happens."

"Dereban.."

"And that is why it is better that you don't know. That way you will bear no responsibility for what will happen. Therefore no guilt will fall on your head. And then maybe.. possibly after a lot of years, I don't know, but maybe.. you can heal him."

"Dereban! Just stop! Listen to me!"

"I'm sorry. You can't help. I can't take that risk. I can't let you ruin yourself, and him, with any feelings of guilt on your part."

"No! You're doing it again. You're trying to take the whole world on your shoulders all by yourself. Do you think so little of me? Let me help you!"

"You're the one who isn't listening. I'm sorry."

Inaba got up and left the sauna.

Iori jumped up and nearly ran after her, but she stopped herself.

She sat back down. She needed time to think.

Inaba's words shocked her, more than she realized. She looked her at hands. They were trembling. Her heart was pounding.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to tamp down her own emotions. She needed to find her inner core. She needed to find that cynical, dour, center of her being that was so cool and analytical.

She found it. She used that part of herself to mentally review the conversation that she just had. She realized that whoever had done this to her dear Dereban was a pure sadist. It was an all-out attack against Inaba, against Taichi, and against herself. It was a plot, a plan, to destroy all of them.

It had to be Number Three.

She opened her eyes. The analytical part of herself had come to a conclusion.

_I refuse to let Inaba sacrifice herself like this. I need to contact Heartseed and let him know there is another option._

But Heartseed worked on his own schedule. It could be days or weeks before she might have the opportunity to talk with him.

And so first she had to deal with the girl who just admitted that she was a mess. Inaba had problems that went beyond Heartseed. And those problems had to be taken care of first, to clear away the brush before the real battle begins.

Iori in her heart knew what needed to be done. She loved Inaba unconditionally, and so she had to save Inaba no matter the cost to herself.

But before that, she would need to confront Inaba and straighten out her dysfunctional relationship with Taichi.

And soon.

* * *

Two days later, Iori had manuvered Inaba into one of the sitting rooms. Aoki then slammed the door shut and guarded it on the outside. Inaba tried to wrest the door open, but Aoki was too strong.

Iori was ready to begin her long-planned private confrontation with Inaba. She figured it would take about 30-40 minutes. But Inaba simply refused to listen to her hard words. She managed to open a window and escape before Iori could even begin.

After that incident, Inaba avoided situations where she would be alone with Iori. And she would no longer confide in her.

More days passed.

Inaba was slowly becoming more distant with Taichi and with everyone else.

Her behavior was casting a pall over the entire group.

One day Inaba picked a fight with Taichi in their bedroom. He was trying to gamely calm her down as he always did, which just drove her to greater heights of fury. Finally she yelled that he would be better off without her and that she was just 'a screwed up bitch'.

Iori heard the yelling behind the closed doors of the master bedroom. She wisely did not get involved and stayed in her own room.

Yui and Aoki unwisely tried to intervene, and Inaba exploded at them as well.

Taichi continued to work Monday through Friday at the JRCS. Meanwhile, Inaba commuted between her bedroom and the sitting room that contained her computer setup. She spent the weekdays doing Steve Anderson's market trades. She still took part in group activities in the evenings and on weekends, but she did not participate actively much.

Miyabi Sakuraba finally said farewell and returned to her badly neglected duties as Hanabishi-Sakuraba's CEO.

Anzu continued to do the three-times-per-day PT exercises with Yui. Aoki acted as the secondary spotter. He was surprised to learn that Anzu was a certified physical and occupational therapist. She had taken the training in the hope that her sister would wake up one day.

Thanks to her grit and determination, combined with Anzu and Aoki's cheering support, Yui was progressing way ahead of schedule on her rehabilitation. She was now able to walk a hundred feet before getting tired.

One day while doing her PT in the basement gym, Yui stumbled and fell right into Aoki's arms. He quickly set her on her feet again, then jumped away. Anzu checked Yui's vitals and noted the high heart rate and elevated blood pressure. Yui insisted she was fine, but Anzu decided to cancel the rest of Yui's PT sessions for that day.

That night Yui secretly visited Aoki in his bedroom for the second time. She apologized for the fall, and she told him that she wasn't afraid of him, and that the high blood pressure was merely because she was startled by the fall. Aoki suspected she was just trying to reassure him. He said it was okay.

She apologized again to him for hurting him and sending him to prison. He waived it off. She repeated her vow to rid herself of her androphobia. For him. He again said he could wait.

Aoki then repeated his declaration of unconditional love for his princess. Then he reminded her that he loved her even though, from the her own viewpoint, she was undeserving of that love.

Yui looked at the man who cared for her so dearly. She smiled. He was maturing almost day by day.

She knew she had to do something for him in return. She owed him that.

She asked Aoki if she could have back her 'token of favor', the laminated piece of plastic that held her white handkerchief. He gave it to her.

She kissed it, then put it back into his hand.

Aoki laid back down in bed with the laminated card clasped between his hands.

"Goodnight, Yoshi."

"Goodnight, my love."

She returned to her own bedroom and sat on her bed. She didn't bother to re-lock the interconnecting door. She decided that from now on she would leave it unlocked.

Her dear Yoshi was growing up. And how did she feel about that? Was she falling in love with him? She still wasn't sure.

She searched her heart. She realized that she was now developing real feelings for him. But was it love? Could she love him as unconditionally as he did her? She didn't know. But she envied Aoki for being able to love her that way.

She searched her heart again. Yes, the feelings were there, and they were real. But she knew that if she ever told him about those feelings that there would be no going back. She could never bear to hurt him by breaking up with him after making such a confession.

She would be committed for life. And that scared her.

But the feelings were there.

Finally, she went asleep.

And she had a pleasant dream.

* * *

One day there was a knock on Inaba's bedroom door. It was late afternoon, and Taichi had not yet returned from work. Inaba had quit her PC trading early that day and was moping in bed.

Inaba raised her head from her pillow, "Go away."

She heard Iori's voice. "It is me. I would like to enter."

"Iori, I said go away."

There was a pause. Inaba heard Iori's voice speak in a low monotone.

"I am not Nagase. Please let me in."

Inaba sat up. She carefully opened the door.

She saw that Iori was standing before her with a slumped posture. Her eyes were droopy, and her face had a dead expression.

"You're Heartseed."

"Yes. May I enter?"

Inaba said nothing. She simply walked back to her bed and sat on it and waited. Heartseed decided that was as much of a welcoming gesture as he would ever get from her, so he shuffled in and closed the door behind him.

She was tired physically, mentally, and spiritually. "What do you want?"

"You seem to be in a bit of a pickle."

She was irritable as well. "No [bleep], Sherlock."

"If you recall, I did warn you not to trust her. I told you that she would mislead you and deceive you."

Inaba remained seated on her bed, stewing in her own juices.

Then he said, "I must say that - except for that unfortunate complication - this experiment has been most satisfactory so far."

Inaba spat out, "Satisfactory?"

"Yes. It is a pity that the experiment will be ending fairly soon."

Inaba was sarcastic. "Well, I am so sorry to hear that."

"As am I. Your little, ah, gift, is the problem. It sets a hard deadline, as I am sure you understand."

Inaba decided to get to the point. "Look, why are you here?"

He said simply, "Why do you think I am here?"

"To gloat. To brag. To say, 'See I told you so'. Fine. You were right. Happy now?"

"No."

"You're not happy?"

"No, I mean that is not why I am here."

"Well?"

Heartseed remained silent.

Inaba understood. "Oh, I get it now."

Then Inaba said something that did not come naturally to her. It was particularly difficult given the person to whom she was addressing.

"So.. ugh.. I can't believe I'm asking this."

"Mmm?"

"Can you.. help me?"

Heartseed made a small grin. "Very good. You are learning to ask for help from others."

"Well, I am so glad to know that you are happy that I am being forced to act according to your wishes."

Heartseed ignored her retort. Instead he said, "How specifically do you wish me to help you?"

"Can you tear up my contract for me?"

"No."

"Can you stop her?"

"No."

"Can you save Taichi?"

"No."

He explained his last response. "Inaba, I cannot interfere with Taichi's fate, nor can she. Neither of us has any authority over him."

That surprised her. "Wait, she cannot protect Taichi?"

"No, she cannot."

"But she promised me she would!"

"If she claimed or implied to you that she could protect or save Taichi from his fate, then she was deceiving you. She cannot."

Inaba clenched her fists. "That.. that.. bitch. But what about Taichi? How can I save him?"

"You cannot save him."

"But is he going to die? Tell me!"

"Everyone dies."

"Gah! You're as bad as Rina!"

"Rina is the proxy? I did not know that."

"Who cares? Tell me!"

"I told you. I cannot change his fate."

"But what is it?"

"That would be telling."

"You are no help at all."

"What is important is that you asked someone else for help. That is very good and I am pleased. May I ask how Rina plans to destroy me?"

Inaba recrossed her arms. She said tersely, "That would be telling."

"I see. So you have no idea. Interesting."

"I didn't say that!"

"I don't have to be a mindreader to be able to read between the lines. You have been most helpful."

Inaba clammed up. She decided she wasn't going to talk to him anymore. He was useless, and she did not want to trigger the penalty clause in her contract in case she inadvertently disclosed any further information to him.

Finally he said, "Goodbye, Himeko Yaegashi."

He turned and left.

* * *

It was late afternoon on a Thursday. Iori was sitting on a chair at the dining room table. Her head was down on a placemat, dejected. Aoki and Yui walked in and sat next to her. Taichi would be home soon, and Iori would need to start working on dinner.

Yui asked her softly, "Iori, are you okay?"

She kept her head down. "Just thinking about Dereban."

Aoki said quietly, "Iori, we're all worried about Inaba too."

"I need to confront her, but she's such a runner. If she suspects that I want to tell her something she doesn't want to hear, she'll scoot. And the less she wants to hear it, the stronger she tries to flee."

She lifted her head. "I need to find a place where I can keep her still for about a half hour."

"A place?"

"It has to be a place that Inaban cannot possibly escape from. Even by force if she tried as hard as she could. Even if she threatened to hurt me."

Aoki asked, "Could we tie her up maybe?"

"You wish. If she spotted you coming at her with a rope, Missus Wrestling Champion would have you flipped flat on your back and hog tied in 10 seconds."

Aoki remembered how she expertly pinned him at the beach. No, something like that would never work.

Then he remembered how Setouchi's three thugs had tied up Inaba and covered her mouth with duct tape. Then they threatened her with a knife to the throat as they debated among themselves whether or not to rape her.

That had to have been an incredibly traumatic experience. He wondered if she learned all those defensive moves to prevent anyone from ever threatening her like that ever again.

Iori said, "Then we need to coax her to go into a room that she cannot escape from. It has to be locked from the outside."

Yui said, "But Inaba will smell a trap. She's not stupid. And she might even threaten you with violence, Iori, to try to force whoever is outside to open the door for her."

"Yeah, I know. Or she'll jump out the window again. Maybe even smash it to get out."

Aoki was thoughtful. "Hmm. We need a place she won't suspect, that she cannot escape from no matter what, and that she cannot force her way out even with threats."

Iori sighed, "I'm stumped. Maybe Taichi might have an idea.."

Aoki continued to think. Then his eyes lit up.

"Wait, I have an idea. I got it! I know the perfect place. You'll have all the time you'll need, and no amount of threats of violence will let her escape. Oh, it's so simple. She's seen it hundreds of times. And it's soooo obvious that she will miss it. She'll absolutely miss it."

"Miss what? Where?"

"It's right by Yamaboshi Academy. We'll simply make up an excuse to go visit the school. We'll pretend that, I dunno, that you happened to run into Mr. Gotou or something. Or you got a phone call from him. Say that he invited us all to have lunch with him at the school. You know, to see how his former pupils are doing now. She'd never guess it was a trap like that. It'll be easy."

Then Yui's eyes lit up too. "Oh, I see it! Yoshi, you are absolutely brilliant!"

The large man blushed.

Then Iori caught on. "Ah, I see it too. Hey, that's pretty clever. Wow, Aoki, I had no idea you had so many brain cells up there."

Yui defended her man. "Shush. He's smarter than you think."

Iori said, "Aoki, it's a good plan, but I'm gonna need your help on this one."

"You got it."

And so the three conspirators began to put their plan into motion.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Challenge to readers:** Can you guess the location that Aoki is talking about? It has appeared prominently in several episodes of the anime.

* See _Ai Yori Aoshi_ episode 8, 'Cherished Treasure'.

** See Episodes 16-17.

*** See Episode 5.


	19. Practical Exercises

**A/N:**

I admit this is a fluffy chapter. Normally I dislike pure fluff, but it is needed at this point in the story. The reason will become evident starting with the next chapter. (And before you complain that things are getting too dark, remember that I promised you a happy ending.)

* * *

**Chapter 19: Practical Exercises**

It was a quiet Saturday morning at the Sakuraba estate. Taichi was busy whipping Aoki at a video game on the big flat panel TV. Iori watched them play while sitting on the long couch near them. Yui had just finished her morning PT session and had hobbled over on her steel arm canes and sat next to Iori.

The two man-children were playing _WWE SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain*_ on the PlayStation. Taichi was playing the Undertaker, who currently had a headlock on Aoki's John Cena.

Inaba was off doing something on her PC in the sitting room behind them. The door to the sitting room was open and Inaba could be seen with her face hidden behind her four computer panels.

Iori turned around on the couch to make sure that Inaba was out of earshot. Then she asked Taichi, "So, are all systems 'go' for Monday's little escapade?"

Taichi hit the pause button his PSP controller. He turned to face her and said quietly, "Yeah, your plan looks good. Aoki's idea was pretty clever. But why can't I come along? I want to be there for Inaba."

Iori shook her head. "Sorry, Taichi. Our visit to see Mr. Gotou has to happen on a school day, and it has to look like a random impromptu lunch event. If you had made arrangements to take time off from work to join us, it would look really suspicious to Dereban."

Taichi looked down. "I guess understand. I just wish I could be there for her."

Iori replied soothingly, "I know you do. Don't worry, we'll take good care of your wife. Just be ready to give her lots of hugs and support when she comes home. She'll need it."

Taichi nodded, "I will."

Earlier, Iori had briefed Taichi about the plan. She also finally told him her theory about why Inaba's relationship with him was so dysfunctional. Iori had withheld her suspicion up to that point because she wasn't yet sure if her conclusion was correct. But now, after watching Inaba carefully over the past two weeks, Iori felt that there was no longer any doubt.

Taichi then asked her, "Have you checked the weather forecast for Monday? If it's raining then Aoki's plan won't work."

"Oh, good point. Lemmie see." Yui watched as Iori pulled out her smartphone. She spoke into it: "Siri, what is the weather for Monday?"

Yui tilted her head. "Iori, who are you talking to?"

Iori's phone then responded with a pleasant female voice in perfect Japanese: "The weather for Monday will be fair to partly cloudy, with a high of 27 degrees celsius."

Yui's eyes boggled. "Hey! Your phone talked back!"

"Yeah, so?"

Yui was acting like she had seen a ghost. "It.. it talked!"

Taichi caught on. He explained, "Yui, I'm afraid technology has progressed a bit while you gone."

Yui leaned forward to look at Iori's smartphone. "What is that thing?"

Iori said matter-of-factly "It's an iPhone, fifth generation." She handed it to Yui.

"It talks?"

"Yeah. You can speak a street address and it will give you audible driving directions. Or say somebody's name and search for them on Google."

Yui's eyes lit up. "That is so amazing! I had no idea that technology had progressed so far while I was out."

Taichi smiled and said, "You missed out on almost four years of new tech, world history, culture, local events, trends.. a whole of lot of stuff."

"I guess so."

"Use the web. I'll ask Inaba if you can borrow her PC and go exploring the Internet when she's not using it. That way you can use a traditional PC with with a mouse and keyboard instead of flicking around."

Yui was confused. "Flicking around? I don't understand."

Iori took back her iPhone and used her index finger to slide the icons. "See? Like this." She flicked back and forth.

Yui's eyes grew wider. "A touch screen! That's so cool!"

Taichi continued to grin at her. "I'll make sure that Inaba sets you up with a personal PC account with your own private bookmarks. That way you can go exploring on the web and get up to speed on all the stuff you missed."

"Thank you. I will definitely do that." She sighed. "It would seem that I have a lot of catching up to do."

Aoki piped up, "Me too. Yui, I'm even more clueless on this tech stuff than you are. All I did in prison was work out and watch TV. We both need to catch up on news and local events and stuff. Would it be okay if I sat with you as you went exploring on the web?"

Yui said brightly, "Yoshi, I love the idea. Yes, we can sit together. I can certainly show you how to use a keyboard and mouse." She looked down. "Although I'm afraid that those skills are looking a bit obsolete now. I feel outdated."

Aoki grinned and said, "Hey, outdated is just my speed."

Iori jumped up from the couch and turned to face them both. "That is a wonderful idea. Let's get you started right now, shall we? Aoki, why don't you kindly escort Yui over to the sitting room and chat with Inaban? I'm sure she'd be happy to show off her whizzy PC and get you set up on it."

Iori slowly helped Yui on to her unsteady feet. She then tried to hand Yui her steel arm canes, but Yui waived them off. "I'm just going to try to walk without them for a bit. Yoshi, can you spot me?"

"Always."

Yui and Aoki slowly shambled over to the sitting room. He stayed very close but did not touch her. Iori sat back down on the couch with Taichi and turned to watch them.

She was smiling to herself as the couple slowly walked away together.

Taichi said quietly, "You know, those two are doing wonderfully."

Iori's eyes sparkled as she kept watching the retreating couple. "Yes. It's nearly perfect."

Then she said something that surprised Taichi. It was almost a whisper, as if she was talking only to herself.

"That accident was the best thing that could have happened to them."

Taichi turned at looked at her incredulously. "Huh?"

Iori kept observing the couple. She said enigmatically, "Just watch."

And so he did.

Aoki and Yui successfully reached the sitting room without incident. The door was still open and Inaba could be seen inside sitting at the computer. The couple had gotten Inaba's attention, and she jumped up and offered Yui her seat. Then Inaba started to helpfully point out and explain things to Yui on the main computer screen. Aoki quietly pulled up a second chair and sat next to Yui.

Inaba was leaning over Yui and using the keyboard to show how the Google search engine worked. Inaba started to type a search term into the text box. From their vantage point, Taichi and Iori could see Yui's eyes boggle again as the screen started to anticipate Inaba's typing. The computer was helpfully offering suggestions to complete the search query. Yui then excitedly grabbed Aoki's arm and then pointed at the screen in amazment. She exclaimed something that Iori and Taichi could not quite hear. Aoki chuckled as he watched Yui's reaction. Then he scooted his chair a little bit closer to Yui.

Taichi leaned over to Iori and spoke quietly, "Those two are doing great. But what did you mean by that remark about the accident?"

"Don't you see it? Just look at them. Time has basically stood still for Yui for almost four years. Physically, she is 21, but mentally she is still only 18."

"Time stopped."

"Yes. In terms of her emotional maturity she is still a teenager, barely an adult."

"Okay, so?"

"Don't you get it? Aoki was the most immature person in our group. He acted like a child half of the time. He was way younger than Yui that way."

Taichi thought. "So what you are saying is, without Yui's coma, that Aoki's emotional maturity was too far behind Yui's for their relationship to ever work?"

"Sadly, I think so. Even if they waited for years she'd still always be 3-4 years ahead of him in terms of their respective emotional maturity."

It was because real relationships, the deep ones that can actually last a lifetime, only happened between equals.

Taichi understood. "And so thanks to her accident, Aoki was able to catch up to her, maturity-wise."

"That's right. I think Yui's coma is why they now have a growing relationship. They are becoming a real couple, even if she doesn't realize it yet. It would have never worked otherwise. Oh, Aoki still has a bit more maturing to do, but basically he's nearly caught up. The point is, from an emotional viewpoint they are now both on roughly the same level of maturity."

"You mean they are both mentally 18 now. They are the same emotional age, 18."

She sighed and said wistfully. "And 18 is such a romantic age for budding love. To be that young, so idealistic, the emotions.. it's so wonderful."

Taichi was about to point out that Iori herself was only 21, but then he stopped himself. He looked at his companion.

_Iori is right. Aoki was the most immature member of our group. Iori, you were the most mature one. Deep inside you were so jaded and cynical even back in high school. And Inaba told me that she suspects that these past years have been hell for you. You suffered terribly. So how old are you now?_

_Are you now an old soul?_

Taichi's reverie was broken when Iori spoke again. "Their love relationship could never have happened without Yui's androphobia either. That was another wonderful stroke of luck."

"How you figure?"

"It's simple: It prevented Aoki from pushing her into doing something she wasn't ready for yet. Yui's a Type-B, a very meek beta. Aoki's a Type-B too, but not as meek as she is. He's an alpha compared to Yui's beta, and alphas can dominate betas and push them into doing things they normally aren't ready for. And so Yui's physical man-phobia created a safety zone, a buffer, around herself to protect her from Aoki's never-ending love confessions. That was fortunate, because neither of them were ready for any kind of physical relationship yet. Certainly not in high school."

Taichi knew that premature sexual relations never worked. They could backfire badly on a growing relationship, or even destroy it. "And that buffer zone allowed that friendship to grow and blossom, right?"

"Yep."

"So they might be ready to move beyond the friendship stage now. Become a real couple."

"Possibly. I think he's ready. Not sure about her yet."

"If you say so. I just hope she can get over her hangup eventually. Otherwise that is going to be a huge barrier on their future relationship. But can she beat it?"

Iori turned and faced him. "Hmm. That's an excellent question."

Taichi turned as well. "What do you mean?"

Iori looked thoughtful. "I think it is time to check if Yui and Aoki are ready to progress to the next level. Don't you agree?"

"I dunno.."

"Sure you do. You just said it yourself."

"Wait.."

"Okay! So let's see what I can do here.."

"What are you talking about?"

"Be quiet. Lemmie think."

Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're scheming again. I can tell."

She ignored him. "Okay, I got an idea."

Taichi frowned. "Iori, you are not going to mess around with them, especially not Yui. She's far too innocent.."

"No, no, no. We are just going to do a simple test. Nothing more."

"A test?"

"We'll do it during her evening PT session. And if it works, the rest will follow naturally."

"What test? What will?"

She leaned forward and started whispering in his ear. "Now here's my plan. Taichi, you are the key. Trust me, only you can do this.."

"Do what?"

Iori looked him in the eyes. "Please do what I ask. Do it for Yui. Please. For her sake."

Taichi looked back at her. "Okay, you know that I'd do anything to help Yui. And whatever your plan is, you know that I trust you." Taichi felt that Iori would never betray her friends.

"Smart man. You'll understand it better as I explain. Your part will be very important. Now pay close attention.."

Meanwhile Inaba, who was idly watching Yui gape at her PC, had raised her head above the flat panels and had noticed Iori and Taichi on the couch sitting very close together. She saw their interaction. Iori then leaned forward and whispered animatedly into Taichi's ear. Inaba could see Taichi's eyes widening with excitement. He pulled away, nodded yes enthusiastically, then he gave her a quick hug.

Inaba sucked in her breath, then ducked down and hid herself behind the flat panels. None of the others had spotted her watching the couple on the couch.

And so Inaba's heart darkened a bit more.

* * *

It was evening and the group had finished eating dinner. Yui was now starting her regular evening PT workout in the basement gym, with Anzu helping the ex-Sleeping Beauty do her usual exercises. Aoki stood as the second spotter like he always did. For this particular session Iori and Taichi had decided to come downstairs to watch. They were standing nearby.

Inaba then came downstairs as well, curious to know where everyone else had gone. She sat on a chair against the wall, apart from the others.

Yui asked her sister, "Can I please try? Look around, everyone is here. We should have enough spotters for it."

Anzu looked dubious. "Yui, I still think it's too early to try the parallel bars."

"But I want to. My arm strength is quite good now." That was because of all of her walking using her steel arm canes had conditioned her arms more quickly than her legs. "I think I'm ready for it. Please? Everyone is here in case I fall. I really want to try."

Anzu said she was still unsure.

Aoki spoke up for Yui. "I know she can do it. She's strong. We can put two spotters on each side of the bars and one in the middle. Five total should be plenty."

Anzu sighed, "Well, all right. If everyone helps spot her I guess it is okay."

Iori whispered something to Taichi, who responded with the barest nod. Inaba saw it.

Anzu waved over to Inaba. "Can you please come over here and help us?" Inaba got up and approached the group.

Yui slowly approached the parallel bars. The height of the bars was set to roughly the level of her armpits. Iori and Taichi positioned themselves on the left side of the bars, and Aoki and Inaba moved to the right side. Yui walked in between the bars and raised her hands onto the bars in preparation. Anzu then stood directly behind Yui and put her hands on Yui's hips.

Anzu said, "Get ready. I'm going to lift you up. Get on the bars. Try walking the length of the bars as far as you can. If you get tired and can't go any further, say so and I'll lower you back to the ground again. Don't try to jump down yourself. Understood?"

Yui gritted her teeth. "Got it. I'm going the whole distance."

"Just do your best."

Aoki yelled support, "Yui! You can make it!"

Anzu lifted her up and Yui grasped both bars, her arms straight. She concentrated and began arm-walking. Releasing first her left hand, then her right.

Left, right, left, right. The whole group was cheering her on wildly. Inaba too.

Meanwhile, Taichi stayed very close to Yui's left. He was alert and crouching a bit. Iori drifted a bit behind them.

Yui was now nearing the end of the parallel bars. Everyone was yelling encouragement for her to reach the end. "Yay!" "Go for it!" "You can make it!"

Yui was naturally right handed; her left arm was slightly weaker than her right. Taichi stayed very close to her left.

Then her left arm buckled.

Taichi, who was already crouched low, dived under the bars and expertly grabbed Yui as she fell towards the mat. He caught her in a diving roll.

The roll ended with Yui flat on her back on the soft mat, with Taichi laying on top of her.

He asked, "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Can you get off me, please?"

"Oh, sorry." He got up. Then he offered his hand and pulled Yui up was well. She stood up. He moved back towards Aoki.

Aoki tried to rush to Yui's side, but Iori and Taichi blocked him. Iori said quietly, "Aoki, just wait."

Anzu looked worried. She said, "Yui, let me check your vitals."

Yui brushed herself off. "I'm okay."

Anzu knew better. She pulled out the portable BP and heart-rate monitor and clipped the clothes-pin sensor to Yui's index finger. Iori casually walked up behind her to observe. Meanwhile Taichi continued to hold Aoki back.

Anzu looked at the readings. "Hmm, BP isn't elevated much. Heart rate is up a bit, but that's understandable given all the exercise."

Meanwhile, Aoki was yelling. "Yui! Don't panic! Breathe! Breathe!"

He wrested himself away from Taichi and rushed towards her.

Yui's heart rate then jumped, and her BP started to rise rapidly. Anzu said, "Whoa."

And Iori smiled.

Anzu began to understand. "Hmm. No doubt you planned all this with Taichi."

Iori put her hand behind her head. "Guilty."

Inaba blinked her eyes. So Iori's little conspiracy with Taichi on the couch earlier that day wasn't aimed at herself; it was aimed at Yui. She felt bad about suspecting him.

Yui asked, "Planned what?"

Iori stepped forward again. "Can I look at the monitor please?" Anzu gave it to her.

"Aoki, please step away from Yui. Over there." Aoki moved back.

The monitor showed that Yui's heart rate and BP were now dropping.

"Now Taichi, please come here." He did. No change.

"And now, Yui, can you please give Taichi a nice big bear hug?"

The room erupted with protests.

Iori yelled "SILENCE!"

Aoki was adamant, "Yui, don't try to hug Taichi! It's too dangerous!"

Iori asked, "How come?"

Aoki was incredulous. "What kind of dumb question is that? It put her into a coma last time!"

Iori replied calmly, "Yeah, it did. But do you think that will happen now with all of us present? With her closest friends here to protect her? Relax, she's perfectly safe with us."

"Don't do it!"

Iori was confident. "Just watch."

"Stop!"

Yui said, "It's okay. I want to try."

And before Aoki could say or do anything, Yui wrapped her arms around Taichi in a big bear hug.

Meanwhile Iori was closely looking at the heart/BP monitor.

Anzu looked over Iori's shoulder. "Her vitals are up a bit."

"But it's hardly a panic attack."

"No."

Yui let go. Her breathing was a bit faster, but she was not in any sort of real distress.

Iori then said, "Okay, Aoki come here and replace Taichi." He approached slowly.

Yui's vitals immediately shot up. Anzu grabbed the monitor back from Iori. "Heartrate is 85, BP is 150/90."

Iori said, "Hmm, in that case we better not try a hug. Aoki, please just hold hands with Yui. Nothing more."

"No hug?"

"Just hold hands."

"Yui, are you okay with this?"

She stammered, "Uh.. y-yes.. I think.. yes."

Anzu said, "Vitals still rising."

"It's too dangerous. I'm not doing it."

Iori grabbed Aoki's hand, and before he knew it she had put his hand in Yui's own. She held onto it.

Anzu said quickly, "Heartrate is 96+, BP is 175/100. That's enough!"

Aoki instantly let go. Yui's face was completely red and she was breathing heavily. She pulled her hand towards herself and felt the warmth.

Inaba crossed her arms and smiled. "Well, well. Whaddya know. Iori, when did you figure this out?"

She shrugged, "This morning, but only a hunch. I didn't know for sure until I had Taichi fall on top of her just now."

"Clever. So how were you planning to have him do that? You couldn't have known she was going to use the parallel bars today."

"We were improvising. If I had to I was just going to trip Yui and have Taichi fall over while trying to catch her. But this worked even better. Well done, Taichi. I'm proud of you."

He shrugged off her praise. "It was just a barrel roll. Easy."

Aoki was still confused. "I don't get it. What are you people talking about?"

Iori explained it. "Don't you see? Yui doesn't have androphobia anymore. She never had it."

"Never?"

"Not since she clunked her noggin. It knocked it right out of her head."

"But she still panics! I see it all the time!"

"Exactly. And so after she woke up, everyone thought she still had androphobia. But she didn't."

It was because the hospital was careful to keep any man from touching her at all times. All of her attendants at the hospital were women: the nurses, the orderlies, the PT staff, everybody.**

"The only male that was ever allowed to go anywhere near her was you, Aoki. And whenever you got too close she reacted with all the symptoms that mimicked androphobia: rapid breathing, flushed face, high blood pressure, and high pulse rate."

Inaba nodded. "So everyone believed she still had it. But she didn't. Not since the accident."

Aoki asked, "But what does she have now, then?"

Inaba thought a moment. "My diagnosis would be Yoshiphilia."

Iori acknowledged her colleague. "Excellent diagnosis, Doctor Yaegashi. I concur."

Inaba bowed. "Why thank you, Doctor Nagase."

Yui was still confused. "Huh? Yoshiphilia? What does that mean?"

Iori sidled up to Yui and said quietly, "It means he turns you on."

Yui was stunned. "W-What?"

Iori sighed as she approached Aoki, "And small wonder. I mean, look at him.. he's a total stud muffin." She wrapped her arm around his large bicep. "I mean, he looks like Henry Cavill in _Man of Steel_ for crying out loud. If I was in your shoes.. rowr.." She started to rub her head on his chest. "I'd be crawling all over him like a minx. It's no small wonder you get so flustered."

Yui crossed her arms. "Iori, stop that! It's preposterous. I have never heard anything so outrageous in my life."

Iori continued to hold her head against his broad chest. "Aw.. you sure you won't loan him to me? Just for one day?"

Meanwhile Aoki was fidgeting badly, wondering what to do.

Yui was getting angry. "Iori, don't insinuate things like that! Yoshi is a perfect gentleman." Then she said to Aoki, "Don't let that.. that tramp.. get to you. Yoshi, get away from her this instant." Yui then walked over and pulled Iori off of her man.

Inaba decided to join in the fun. She approached and held Aoki's other bicep and leaned into him. "Oh my, Iori you are so right. He's totally yummy." Taichi gave his wife a look. "Yes, I can see why your gentle Superman here sends your heart aflutter whenever you get really close to him." Then she showed a mischievous grin. "Hey, Iori, maybe we can do a WWE tag team on him tonight?"

Iori instantly pointed her finger at Inaba. "Deal!"

Yui made a noise and angrily pulled Inaba away. Then she stamped her feet.

"Ooh! Stop it! Inaba, you are as bad as Iori! Simply awful! Both of you, you.. you shameless hussies!"

And everyone laughed at her expense.

* * *

Later that night, Yui secretly entered Aoki's bedroom again. He smiled, for he was expecting her. She walked in without her arm canes. He stood up and waited patiently as she slowly walked in to his room.

She approached and lowered her head before him. "I'm such a fool. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I should have known."

"Hey, I missed it too."

"I was so selfish. I was using my androphobia as a shield, an excuse, to keep you away."

"No you weren't."

"Maybe not at first. But later, yes. Even during our last year high school I think. It was just an emotional crutch for me, to keep you at a safe distance."

"Well, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does matter. Don't you see? It was an excuse for me to keep you near me while avoiding any physical contact. To keep you close to me while avoiding any commitment on my part."

"Wait, you're afraid of commitment?"

Yui immediately regretted saying that last sentence. She turned away.

"Uh, forget I said that."

But it was too late. The cat was out of the bag.

"Yui, what do you mean by that? Please tell me."

She realized she now had no choice. She had to tell him.

While looking away she said softly, "Because it terrifies me."

"Commitment scares you? Why?"

She screwed up her courage to face him. He deserved to know. She turned. "Because I know that if we take that next step, no matter how small - even if we are just holding hands together - I know that I'll be committed to you for life."

Aoki was incredulous. "Huh? That's silly. Why would you think so? I'd never force you to commit to me like that. C'mon, you should know me better than that by now."

"No, Yoshi, it will. And that is what scares me. My real phobia. Of lifelong commitment, to you."

"Honestly, you're not making sense."

"Yoshi, think about it. You know I could never hurt you. Let's say it doesn't work out. Then what do I do? I could never leave you after that. It would devastate you. I can't hurt you like that. Your feelings are so powerful, so overwhelming.. how could I ever say no to you ever again? I'd be trapped for life."

Aoki said, "Well, the answer is simple then."

"It is?"

"Don't make that commitment."

"What?"

"You think that if we start holding hands, or kissed, or anything physical like that, that you'll be committed to marrying me. Yui, honestly, you're not. Please give me credit that I am now adult enough to understand that."

"Yoshi?"

"Yui, I'm not a child anymore. So please don't treat me like one. If this doesn't work out and you do decide to leave me one day, I'll respect your wishes. I won't chase you. I won't stalk you. And if you ask me to remain out of your life forever, I will."

"You'd do that?"

"Yes."

A tear started to grow in her eye. "But.. how can you love me while knowing that I'm not yet ready to love you like that in return? Unconditionally, I mean?"

He said simply, "Because that's what love is. It is faith."

Yui looked down. She understood. She realized that the man standing before her now was indeed a mature adult, someone who was ready for whatever life might bring, for better or worse.

She would not be trapped, for he loved her too much to do that to her. He loved her enough to let her go. To let her go if that was what she really wanted.

 _Yoshi, I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I trust you before now? My panic attacks were just feelings of attraction. I had no idea I_ _had such strong feelings for you. How long have I been this way? Since before the accident? Maybe I was. But you were too childish then._

_And what about now?_

_You've grown up, so what do I do now? What do I say to you? I could never hurt you. But I can't keep you safely out at arm's length anymore either._

_Not anymore._

_I have to do this._

_I refuse to be afraid. I will not be afraid._

_No fear. No fear. No fear._

As she looked down, she took a deep breath to build her courage. Her fists were clenched in determination. Then she looked up at him.

"Yoshi, I admit I have feelings for you."

"I know."

"Wait, you already knew?"

"I've known it for a long time."

What? She refused to let his surprise statement derail her. "Well, be that as it may, now that I finally recognize that I have these feelings for you, I would.. I would like.. us to become.. a real couple."

He said softly, "Yui.."

She added quickly, "But only if you understand I'm not ready to marry you."

He chuckled. "Okay. I won't try to shove a wedding ring in your face. Or even an engagement ring."

"Thank you."

Yui had just confessed her feelings to him for the first time. This was a special day.

"Yoshi, I think we should do something. You know, to make this official. That we're now an official couple."

"Like what?"

She smiled. "For starters, maybe you can just hold my hand?"

He did.

"Oh my." She placed her other hand over her heart. "My heart is pounding out of my chest right now."

"But at least now you know why it's pounding. That should help calm you down."

"It does. It's slowing." She kept holding his hand. "Don't worry, I'm feeling better already."

"I'm glad."

A minute passed. She was calm.

She thought a moment. "You know, holding hands like this doesn't seem to be enough for something this important."

He sighed, "No.. I do agree it really doesn't. I suppose I could offer you a promise ring or something, but I don't have anything to give you right now."

She said, "Then I think we should.. well, we should kiss. Yes."

"What?"

"Isn't that how the fairy tale always ends? With a kiss?"

He thought she was joking. "Heh, first we will need to have some emergency paramedics on hand with electric paddles before we try moving up to that level."

"Yoshi, I'm not joking."

He frowned. "Please, no, it's too risky."

"Yoshi, I'm not some delicate flower. You're always bragging how tough I am."

"Well, yes, you're a brave and courageous fighter.."

Her eyes were bright. "So you keep saying. I want to do it."

"No. It's too dangerous."

She pushed him away and crossed her arms. "Yoshi, are you calling me a coward?"

He pleaded with her. "What? Of course not!"

She approached him again. "Then let's kiss right now. To make it official."

"Yui..?"

She looked down. ".. except I've never done it before."

"What?"

"Yoshi, I've never kissed anyone before. A first kiss is so important." That was particularly true in Japan. "It is a memory that lasts a lifetime, one that you and I will cherish forever."

"I suppose that's true.."

"So we need to do this right. Do it properly."

He chuckled. "You mean so we don't accidentally bonk our noses together or something else totally embarrassing."

"Exactly. It has to be a kiss worthy of a knight and his princess."

She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward. "So I think we should practice first."

"Practice?"

"Yes. We need to do some practice ones first."

"We should?"

"Don't worry, they won't count."

"They won't?"

"Of course not. It's just practice. Then we'll do an official one. Sound good?"

"If you say so.."

"Okay. Yoshi, close your eyes and don't move." He did as he was instructed and waited.

She screwed up her courage. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest again. She willed herself to calm down.

Then she lightly pecked him on the lips for a split second.

He was disappointed. He opened his eyes.

She admitted, "That wasn't very good, was it."

"Not really. Kind of dry too."

She wet her lips. "Let me try again."

Another peck.

Aoki sighed, "Yui, I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling it."

She stamped her feet in exasperation. "I'm awful at this!"

He gently held her. "Want me to explain to you how to do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, a real kiss is more than a peck. But it's not mashing faces either. A kiss is more like a dance, where there is lead and a partner. The lead starts things off, and if the partner likes what the lead is doing, the partner reciprocates. Then in turn the lead advances or retreats a bit. If the partner follows, the lead continues that way, and so on. The thing is, it always starts gentle, a sharing of intimacy. There's tempo and flow."

"Wait.. Yoshi, how do you know all this?"

"Uh.."

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "You've kissed before!"

"No I haven't!"

"Yoshi, don't lie to me."

He looked at her sheepishly. "Look, the topic came up when Rina was visiting last week. She was trying to give some advice to Taichi on how to, well, make his new wife happy, if you know what I mean.."

"And..?"

"And then Iori and I came in and got interested and sat down to listen to what they were talking about. Taichi got totally embarrassed and left in a huff. Then Rina turned and asked me, well, if I ever kissed anyone. I said no, and uhm.."

"And you practiced with an underage girl!? Yoshi, how could you!"

"No, I didn't! She just explained how, like I just told you."

"I see. And then?"

He decided to come clean with her. "And well, I still didn't get it. So, uh, Iori said 'It works like this,' and before I could do anything she planted one right on me. I'm sorry!"

She clenched her hands into fists. "It's not your fault. I should have known. I am going to have some sharp words with that woman."

"She said it was just practice. I'm so sorry. I tried to stop her.."

"I know, it's okay. I blame that shameless hussy. Oooh, I am so angry with her!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Be quiet and come here." Then she mashed her mouth on his.

She was overdoing it. He pulled back. "Whoa, ease up. I told you it's like a dance. Slow down. It always starts tenderly, like this."

He kissed her properly - a gentle and tender exploration.

This went on for a while.

Then he pulled back. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

Then she said softly, "Yoshi, that was an excellent practice kiss."

"You were great too."

"You know, I think we should keep practicing."

"Until we get it right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I agree. Definitely."

"Mmm."

And so this went on, well in to the night.

* * *

**A/N:**

* It is a real video game title (egads).

** Doctor Niban had never touched Yui since her awakening, and instead he had a female assistant do all of the direct examinations under his personal supervision.


	20. Round and Round She Goes

**Chapter 20: Round and Round She Goes**

It was a Sunday morning. Iori began to serve another one of her masterful brunches in the main dining room. She again received lavish praise and compliments on her culinary ability from everyone seated at the table.

Throughout the meal, Yui never took her eyes off the man who sat across from her. Meanwhile, Taichi was excitedly gabbing about the earthquake disaster drill that he was going participate in later in the week. The drill was going to simulate the near-complete destruction of Yamaboshi, including all of its hospital facilities.

Tomorrow the USNS _Mercy_ would dock in Yamaboshi Harbor. During the drill the JRCS Disaster Rapid Response Team (DRRT) would be serving in various non-medical roles both on and off the great ship during the simulated emergency, doing victim rescue, triage selection, patient transport via helicopter, shelter set ups, security, feeding, and so on.

Inaba asked Taichi when the disaster drill would take place. He explained he didn't know, and that it was intentional to make it more of a surprise. It could happen at any time during the week, even in the middle of the night.

Then there was more general gabbing. Yui again asked Taichi about helping Aoki find work. Taichi replied he would look into it tomorrow.

At the end of the meal, Iori stood up and surprised everyone with announcement.

"I didn't actually prepare this brunch. Aoki made the whole thing himself."

Taichi slapped Aoki on the back. "Dude, congrats! You have some impressive cooking skills."

The large muscled man shrugged, "I guess I have a knack for it."

And Yui beamed at him.

* * *

The meal was over. Yui had gone upstairs to change into her gym clothes for her next workout. Meanwhile, Iori and Aoki were in the kitchen cleaning things up. Inaba stayed behind to help with the dishes.

After everything was put away, Aoki took off his apron and said, "Well that's that. I'm going upstairs to check on Yui."

Inaba stopped him. "Not yet."

"Hmm? What's up?"

Inaba grabbed his shirt and shoved him against the wall. Her face was stern. Then he noticed that Iori was standing next to her with the same hard expression on her face.

He tried to placate the two women. "Uh, ladies, anything I can help you with? Is something wrong?"

Inaba pressed her fist harder into his chest. She said in a low growl, "Nothing is wrong. Yet. And it will stay that way if you know what's good for you. Capisce?"

Iori added, "You better listen to her, for your sake."

"W-What are you two talking about?"

Iori said, "We are talking about you and Yui."

Aoki said nervously, "Oh, uh, yes. Thank you. Thank you so much for helping her climb out of her shell yesterday. Taichi too."

Iori replied, "You're welcome. But now things have changed."

"Changed? How?"

Iori took a step towards him. He pressed his back further against the wall.

"What I mean is, Yui is now vulnerable. She doesn't have her androphobia to shield her anymore. To protect her."

"From what?"

Inaba said, "From you, dorkwad."

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you. And so help me, if you ever take advantage of that poor innocent defenseless girl.."

"Come now, ladies. Yui is hardly defenseless."

Iori got in his face. "She is to you. She's now completely unprotected."

Inaba growled, "That's right. So if you even think about doing anything improper with her, anything at all, then I will rip your beating heart out of your chest and show it to you."

Aoki gulped.

Then he said, "But, wait, I don't understand. Weren't you the ones who set things up for her to discover that she no longer had androphobia?"

Iori said, "That's right, we did."

"But you were the ones who planned all this! So why blame me?"

"Aoki, we are not blaming you. We are warning you. We did it to free Yui's mind so that she could enter into a normal healthy relationship with the guy she likes. That is you. But that also means that the normal rules now apply. She lost her physical protection, her androphobia, so now she's just like any other teenage girl - vulnerable."

Iori crossed her arms. "Remember, the Yui that awoke from that coma is still only 18. You're 21. That makes you the senior partner now. The responsible one."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."

"Well now you know. Just think of me and Inaban as Yui's concerned parents, and think of yourself as the boyfriend who is dating our precious daughter. So you get one warning, and this is it: If you take advantage of her, if you hurt her in any way - and believe me I will know if you try - then I will kindly ask Dereban here to commit unspeakable acts of violence on your personhood that haven't been seen since the Middle Ages."

Inaba gave him a nasty smile. Aoki tried to melt into the wall.

Iori said, "So is that understood?"

Aoki jumped up with a salute. "Yes ma'am! Understood! Crystal clear!"

Inaba let go of his shirt. "Good. Now go upstairs. I'm sure she's waiting for you."

"Yes, ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!" He stumbled out of the kitchen and was gone.

Inaba began to wash her hands off in the sink. "As much as I enjoyed doing that, was it really necessary for us to threaten him that way? He's such a boy scout."

Iori started to remove her apron. "True. He's always been a complete gentleman around Yui. Always has been, always will."

"So threatening him like that really wasn't necessary, was it?"

"No, it wasn't."

"But we did it anyway."

"Yeah."

"Good."

* * *

Inaba and Taichi were in bed for the night. She was wrapped up in her own blanket, facing the wall away from him. She was lost in her own dark thoughts.

From his own pillow Taichi continued to lay on his side and watched the back of his wife's head as she continued to brood in silence. His heart was full of concern and worry.

After a minute she said, seemingly to no one in particular, "Go ahead."

That startled Taichi. "Huh?"

She continued to face the wall. "Say it."

"Say what?"

"Taichi, you are going to ask me, 'Honey, what is the matter?' Then I say, 'Nothing,' then you say, 'Something is wrong, I can tell. What is it?', and then I say 'It is none of your business,' and you insist it is, and then you continue to pester me like that until I snap at you. Then you say 'It's all right dear, I understand.' Then I yell 'No you don't!' And then eventually I grab my blanket and sleep somewhere else."

Taichi remained silent as he looked at the back of his wife's head.

Inaba waited. "Hurry up and say it. Let's get our fight started."

Nothing.

After another minute she turned around under her blanket and faced him.

She studied him. "Ah, I see."

"See what?"

"Iori talked to you again, didn't she.."

"She did."

"Figures."

"She told me to stop trying to help you."

That surprised her. "Really?"

"Yeah. My natural instinct is to help someone in need. But she explained that in your case it just pushes you away. She told me to stop doing that with you."

"She did?"

"Yeah, and there's more. She thinks she knows why we fight all the time."

"Which is?"

"She wants to talk to you about it first. Just you and her. In private."

"Fat chance. I know she's scheming, plotting something. I'm not letting her do her tricks on me."

"She's not."

Inaba was studying his face. "Liar. I can see it. So she is. I didn't know that. Thanks, Taichi."

"What?"

"Taichi, I can read you like a book. Never try to lie to me."

"I'm not. She isn't!"

"Thanks for the info. I didn't actually know she was plotting something against me until just now. I asked you that question to find out, and the reaction on your face just confirmed it."

"No! She is not plotting against you!"

"Then what is she doing?"

"She is trying to help you!"

Inaba rolled on her back to face the ceiling. "Same thing."

More silence.

Taichi said earnestly, "Look, we all know that Number Three has you trapped."

That startled her badly. She quickly rolled over to face him again. "Wait, you know about Number Three?"

"Yeah. Iori figured it out. It's not Heartseed this time. She thinks you made some kind of secret pact with Number Three against Heartseed, but you ended up screwing yourself over because of it. Am I right?"

Inaba eyes widened. She tightly clutched her stomach under the blanket.

_Wait, Iori knows?_

"Iori told me all about it."

Inaba began to panic.

_She knows! She knows! She knows!_

Taichi went on. "Now, Iori doesn't know what exactly that pact is.."

Inaba felt immediate relief. She released her hands from her midsection.

_Iori_ _doesn't know. Oh thank heavens._

".. but she has a theory."

Inaba froze again.

He said, "She thinks you are planning to wish yourself out of existence."

Inaba let out her breath. She said nervously, "What? That's silly."

Taichi caught her reaction. He raised himself up on his elbow in earnest and faced her. "Hey, I can read you too. It's not silly and you know it. I know that Heartseed and his ilk can do that, change the past I mean. Look, remember what happened during the age reversals? When Heartseed offered Iori a chance to change her past?"

Inaba remembered. Heartseed had offered Iori the opportunity to re-live her childhood all over again, to live her sad life differently the second time around. But she had rejected the offer because she knew that the Pentagon would have never formed.*

Taichi went on. "Look, Iori was the one who founded the StuCS. She was the core of our fivesome, and she still is. Do you remember how she rejected Heartseed's offer? She knew that our friendship together was too precious to give up, so she refused his offer to change the past."

Taichi slid over towards his wife. "And you are too precious for me to give up. Inaba, I love you so much.. so don't do it. Please."

He pulled open her blanket, got under the covers, and held her. "Please, don't you see? If you were too precious for Iori to give up, how do you think I feel? I can't ever give you up. I could never give you up. So don't, please, don't."

Her heart lept at his embrace. She gazed into his deep brown eyes. She started to tear up. "Taichi, I can't.."

He tightened his hold. "And what's more, I need you. I need you so badly. You always keep hammering away at me, telling me to change myself, to be more careful in saving others. I need you for that reason if nothing else."

That was true. She remembered Rina's revelation of her unconscious reason for marrying Taichi: To stop him from killing himself.

And if she herself were gone? What would happen to him then?

"Inaba, I need you so much. I need you to keep me on the straight and narrow, and only you can do it." His fingernails began to dig into her skin as he pressed his head on her shoulder. "So.. so please.. don't disappear. Don't disappear!"

She embraced him in return. She spoke gently into his hair, "All right."

He raised his head in hope. "You won't do it?"

She kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"Taichi, I love you beyond words. I could never hurt you."

He looked into her eyes. "Then promise me that. Promise me that right now."

She gave him a gentle smile as she stroked his hair. "Okay, you dumb lunkhead. But only on one condition: Promise me that you won't do anything stupid yourself, like get yourself killed, or anything like that."

He was resolute. "All right. I promise."

She lowered her head into his shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Then I promise I'll never, ever, hurt you."

He smiled at her. "It's a deal."

"Okay." She raised her head and wiped away his tear. "You swear?"

He lifted his right hand and extended his smallest finger. "Pinky swear."

She wrapped her pinky around his. "Pinky swear."

They released pinkies and they kissed again.

She wrapped herself around him tightly, "I love you so much."

They remained in their embrace in silence for several minutes.

Inaba continued to gently stroke his hair.

_I will never, ever, hurt you, my dearest love._

_I will give you what you need._

She kissed him, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

_Heartseed_ _will be defeated, and you will be safe._

_I love you so much._

_I love you so much that I will let you go._

_I will give you someone who will protect you. Because I cannot._

_I will be gone._

_Because I will never, ever, hurt you._

_And so you must never know._

* * *

Keiso muttered to himself, "That ship is too big."

It was Monday morning. Keiso, Taichi, and Bakou were standing at Yamaboshi Pier Number 1 as a half dozen tugboats strained mightily against a great white wall that was higher than a 14-story building. They were pushing the USNS Mercy laterally, inch by inch, towards its final anchor point. They watched the engines of the tugs roar in angry fury as the water churned. It would take another hour before the ship would be fully docked and the gangplank lowered so they could go on board.

Taichi turned towards Keiso. "You think it's too big?"

"Just look at that thing." He pointed up. "There's no main deck. They built the superstructure straight up, with all those extra decks piled right on top of the original supertanker's main deck, edge-to-edge. It's just one big white wall going up into the sky."

He pointed higher. "See way up there, where those helipads are? Those have to be at least 40 meters up from sea level."

Bakou grunted, "41 meters."

Keiso sighed, "That's just great."

Taichi asked, "What's the matter? You don't like heights?"

"No, the sway."

"The sway?"

Bakou explained, "The higher you are on a ship, the larger the sway."

Keiso nodded. "Exactly. When I got married my wife and I went on the Asuka II for our honeymoon..."

Bakou interrupted him as he quoted the specs from memory: "50,000 gross tons, 240 meters long, 960 passengers."

Keiso said, "Uh, right. Anyway, it was my first time aboard a cruise ship. My wife and I booked this great honeymoon suite on the topmost deck, way up in the air. A great view. We loved it. Then that first night there was a squall.."

Taichi understood. "Hoo boy."

"Yeah. It was my first experience on the ocean, and from that I learned that I can get seasick in a bathtub. I hate the sea now. I can't even swim. Just the thought of going on that ship gives me the heaves."

Taichi asked, "What is your assignment for the drill?"

Keiso sighed, "That's the thing. I'm on the support crew refueling the Chinooks. So I'll be waaay up on the helipad most of the time, one of the highest points on the ship. It's going to absolutely suck."

Taichi tried to reassure him. "Dude, it's only a simulation. That ship is going to remain docked and anchored the whole time it is here. The harbor will block any waves. You'll be fine."

Keiso put his hands in his pockets. "Just the thought of going on board that ship makes me queasy."

"Bring some Dramamine then."

"I'm planning on bringing a bucket full."

Taichi kept trying to reassure him. "Don't worry. The weather forecast for Yamaboshi is warm and sunny all week, with only a mild breeze. There will hardly be any waves at all."

"But the weather forecast said there's a squall line approaching."

"And it's predicted to go 50km north of Honshu."

"Yeah, and we're on the north coast. What if the forecast is wrong?"

"Hey, you're afraid of a little rain?"

"Dude, this is a disaster drill, so we're going to be out here no matter what, rain or shine. I heard a rumor that the drill is going to simulate a helicopter collision just above the landing pad. I'm trying to memorize this 600 page procedural manual on helicopter landing and recovery, of which 450 pages are emergency procedures. Murphy's law says it's going to be rainy, and dark, and everything will go to [bleep], and I'm supposed to instantly remember which pressure valve to flip open for the fire suppression system. In seconds!"

Taichi patted him on the back. "Well, it sucks to be you."

"Gee, thanks for the support."

Then Bakou spoke up. "All of us will be challenged."

Keiso nodded. "He's right, you know. We're all in for [bleep] here. Kurosawa is usually a pretty nice boss, but he can become a total bastard if the circumstances warrant. He takes this disaster stuff really seriously."

Taichi looked down. "Yeah, I know."

"You heard Kurosawa's speech. He's going to use this drill to beat the crap out of each and every one of us."

Then Keiso asked, "So Taichi, what is your assignment?"

He replied, "SAR and triage."

Keiso looked at him sympathetically. "Ouch. Nasty."

It was because Search and Rescue (SAR) was one of the most difficult and dangerous assignments for anyone to undertake in the immediate aftermath of a major earthquake. The job included crawling into partially collapsed buildings, finding survivors, extricating them, and arranging for their medical triage.

Taichi knew that medical triage would be the most challenging task for himself. It was because in any major disaster there were always more injured people than medical facilities available to treat them all. As a first responder, Taichi would be responsible for determining which injured victims should be sent first to the emergency-aid tent stations for helicopter transport to the Mercy.

As he pulled the victims out of the rubble, he was supposed to assign each victim a colored tag. The four-colored tag system was called START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment). There were four colors, one for each classification: Those likely to survive regardless of the care they receive (green), those with serious wounds that were not immediately life threatening (yellow), those for whom immediate care was needed to survive (red), and those likely to die regardless of the care they receive (black).

Taichi would be evaluated and graded in the post-disaster action report regarding whether or not he had made the correct choices based on the START rules. For example, the rules stated that if a victim was not breathing that a black tag was to be assigned immediately, and that no attempt at resuscitation should be made until all other non-green patients had been attended.

Taichi knew that he had to mentally prepare himself to pass this test. It would be the greatest challenge he had ever faced in his young adult life.

The trio continued to watch the tugs push against the great white wall.

Taichi looked at Bakou and asked,. "So what is your assignment?"

The large man said simply, "SAR, then security."

Taichi knew he was ex-military. His biceps looked like they could benchpress a Volkswagen. Bakou never spoke much, and his dead face did not encourage anyone else to talk to him either.

The trio then heard a low hum behind them. They all turned around.

It was Kurosawa in his electric wheelchair. He was wearing Google Glasses and had two smart tablets mounted in front of him, each anchored to one arm of the wheelchair with a small metal clamp. He seemed to be muttering to himself. Then Taichi realized he was issuing orders through a mic clipped to his lapel.

As he got close Taichi began to hear him. "Zone Five is two hours behind schedule. No, I can't spare anyone. I'm still waiting on the safety check on the pyrotechnics. What? That's no excuse. Just find him! Tell the range safety officer to get his butt over there!"

Wait, pyrotechnics?

Kurosawa stopped in front of them as his staff bowed in greeting.

Taichi spoke for the group. "Good morning, Kurosawa-sensei."

The bald headed man ignored him. He was still talking into the mic. "Is the rain-stand up in Zone Three? Good. No, the wind machine doesn't require a big generator. Because it's an old aircraft engine, uses diesel not electricity. What? How could you forget the fuel! Dang it, find a truck and buy some!"

Kurosawa pulled off his headset and sighed. "Sorry, it's been a long day. I've been up since 3AM."

"We understand, sir."

Kurosawa didn't look tired at all. In fact, the handicapped man rubbed his hands in glee like a kid at Christmas. He gazed up at the ship and smiled. "Look at that. Isn't it marvelous?"

"Yes sir, it is."

"Pity it's not going out to sea. I wanted the Mercy to anchor offshore to make the drill more realistic. But the captain wouldn't do it. She's a real stickler for paperwork, that one. She said she couldn't do that without written orders from the US Military's Pacific Command. Oh well."

Taichi said, "Yes, that is a pity sir. Keiso here was just telling us how disappointed he was that we are not going to be out at sea."

Keiso gave him a look.

Kurosawa saw it and chuckled. "That's good. Keep your spirits up, boys. Humor is a great coping mechanism during times of trouble."

"Of course, sir."

Then Taichi added, "It's too bad I will be landside during the drill. I would have liked to have explored the ship. I hear it's quite impressive."

"That's why I brought you all here. To participate in the inspection tour."

The young new JRCS recruit was confused. "But sir, I thought I was going to do SAR and remain landside?"

"Yes, Yaegashi, you are doing SAR. But I never said it would just be landside."

Taichi understood. At some point he would be riding in the Chinooks.

"Wow, thank you sir!"

"Please don't thank me."

"Why not, sir?"

"Because by the time this is over.."

His face grew hard.

".. you won't be so grateful."

* * *

The Monday late-morning sun was shinning brightly as Iori, Inaba, Yui, Aoki, and Anzu disembarked from the train at the Mosaic Center Station. Yui was walking away from the train on her arm canes, with Aoki holding her arm for balance. She insisted on going on foot for the remaining 6 blocks to Yamaboshi Academy. Anzu pushed along the wheel chair behind her as backup.

Earlier that morning, Iori had told them that her mother, Reika Nagase, had happened to run into their former teacher, Mr. Gotou, at the supermarket the previous day. Her mother had told the teacher that his former pupils were all together having a pleasant retreat up at a hilly estate outside Yamaboshi. She gave him Iori's cell number. And so Mr. Gotou had called Iori to invite the five ex-club members to have lunch with him at the school cafeteria at noon. Iori quickly accepted the invitation on behalf of the rest of them (except for Taichi, who was at work). She said they would be delighted to come visit him at the school for a nice lunch chat.

As they were walking to the train station near the estate, she explained that Mr. Gotou had expressed his surprise over the phone at hearing about Inaba and Taichi's wedding. She said he sounded a little hurt that he wasn't invited to attend. Other than that, he said he'd very much look forward to chatting with them over lunch to learn how they are all doing now as young adults out of college.

Because Yui insisted on walking the whole way, the group allocated an extra hour to get to the school by lunchtime. Shortly after leaving the Mosaic Center Station, Yui tripped and fell on the sidewalk. Aoki caught her, but she said her ankle hurt. Anzu remarked that it seemed okay to her, but Yui decided it was best to complete the journey in the wheelchair.

Aoki pushed her quickly along. Because of the wheelchair they were reaching the school much faster than originally anticipated.

Iori checked the time. "Hmm, we're going to be at least 45 minutes early at this rate. He has a fourth period class so we'll have to cool our heels somewhere."

Inaba put her hands on her hips. "Then we have some time to kill. What should we do?"

Iori asked, "Shopping?"

Aoki muttered, "Women.."

Then Yui looked up at the Mosaic Center Ferris Wheel that was standing right in front of them. She pointed. "How about we ride that?"

Aoki looked up at where she was pointing. "Hey, that's a great idea!"

Iori said, "You know, I've never ridden that pink Ferris wheel."

Inaba said, "Me neither. I've walked past this thing at least a hundred times on the way to school. Did any of you?"

There were no nods.

Yui wondered, "Hmm. Isn't that kind of strange?"

Aoki explained, "Not really. It's a boring ride. Look how slow it goes. With unloading and loading all 38 cars it takes about a half hour to do the ride's two rotations. What a yawner. No wonder we never rode it."

Iori slapped her head. "Doh!"

Inaba asked, "What?"

"I just realized that it's a totally perfect makeout spot! C'mon, think about it: Get on board with your boyfriend and you can totally make out for 30 minutes in absolute privacy with nobody to see you. Dang it, why didn't I think of that before?"

Inaba crossed her arms. "Feh."

Then Iori decided to tease her. "It's too bad Taichi isn't here with us." She nudged Inaba's hip. "I can just imagine you two going on a ride together. I bet the cab would start rocking back and forth."

Inaba gave her a scowl. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Then Inaba sighed. "Okay, yeah, let's ride it. It's a good way as any to kill some time as anything else. Maybe the view up there is nice. Let's go."

Iori jumped. "Yahoo!"

Anzu pushed Yui up the ramp. She said, "Each car holds four people. You can take Yui and I'll wait down here."

Meanwhile Iori returned with with the four purchased tickets in hand. As Inaba and Aoki were busy helping Yui stand up, Iori approached the ride attendant with the tickets. Inaba did not see Iori whispering to the attendant, nor did she see his quick palming of the cash she gave him.

The next pink cab slowly rotated into the loading zone and stopped. The attendant opened the door and motioned them inside. Inaba offered to let Yui go in first, but Anzu said it would be better if someone else went in ahead to help her climb inside. Iori volunteered and entered the cab first.

Then Yui winced and collapsed back into the wheelchair again. "I'm sorry. My ankle's too sore. You'll have to ride without me."

Inaba asked, "Aoki, why can't you carry her inside? It's only a few feet."

Aoki spoke up. "No, I'll stay here with her." He looked at Inaba. "You go on ahead."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I want to stay with Yui."

Inaba said, "Okay."

She turned to enter the cab. She saw Iori waiting inside alone.

A tiny alarm bell started ringing in Inaba's head. "Hey, wait a sec.."

And then Aoki shoved Inaba inside.

Before Inaba could react the attendant shut the door and latched it. He pushed a button and the ride started to move.

Meanwhile Inaba was beating her fists on the inside of the cab. "Hey! Let me out!"

Iori leaned forward from her seat and gently motioned her to sit down. "Dereban, we need to talk."

Inaba ignored her and kept beating on the window. "Let me out of here, dammit!"

"Give it up. The glass is at least 15 millimeters thick. I checked. It's soundproof and unbreakable. Please sit."

Meanwhile the ride continued to slowly ascend.

Inaba whirled around. "You rotten sneak! I knew you were plotting something! You bitch!"

"Please, sit."

Inaba lunged at her and grabbed her neck. "Make this ride stop. Now."

Iori was calm. "Or else what? You'll wring my neck off? Go ahead, I don't care."

Inaba's eyes were ablaze with anger. She tightened her grip.

Iori's own eyes grew wide.

Inaba realized what was she was doing and let her go. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you all right?"

Iori coughed. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

"Oh, I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to get so mad."

_What is wrong with me? Am I that messed up?_

Iori shrugged it off. "Forget about it. Now, will you just please sit down?"

Inaba sat down across from her. "I'm really sorry. Okay, I'm listening."

"Good girl. Look, Dereban, you have a serious problem. One that you aren't aware of. We need to talk about it."

Inaba sighed, "That I have anger management issues?"

Iori touched her sore neck. "Yeah you do, but you already knew that. That's not what I'm talking about."

"Is this about Heartseed?"

"Wrong again. This predates whatever is going on with you and those creatures right now."

Inaba gave up guessing. "Then what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about something else. Something you don't know. It goes way back, all the way back to when we first met. Perhaps even earlier. It's something you've probably had your whole life."

Inaba waited.

"Inaban, you have a problem. A big one. You need to understand it."

"Which is?"

"You've been having these fights with Taichi for what, seven years now? It's a cycle that goes round and round and round. At the beginning of each cycle you two start off totally lovey-dovey, and it stays that way for weeks, sometimes months. But then eventually, slowly, you get all grumpy and pissy."

"Tell me about it."

"But Dereban, why is that?"

Inaba leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She tried to think.

She kept her eyes closed as she spoke. "I honestly don't know. I guess his constant nicey-niceyness just, well, pisses me off sometimes. So when I'm unhappy he tries to help me and make me feel better. He's always trying to help everybody, you know that.

"But I don't want his help. So he keeps gently pestering me about why I'm unhappy, asking what he can do to make me feel better. It's because he wants fix everything. He wants to fix the world. So he keeps bugging me, asking me over and over what he could do to make me feel happy again. He tells me that he loves me unconditionally and that everything is okay. He always does that, even when I yell at him and throw things at him and call him by every name in the book. And he never fights back. Ever."

She added, "And that jerk never listens to me."

"How so?"

"Well, you know how he'd give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it? He has actually done something like that before. It happened last year, when I gave him this nice winter jacket as a Christmas gift. It was pretty expensive. Then one day, while going back to his dorm from his evening classes, he walks under a bridge and sees this homeless wino sitting there. So he gives him his coat and walks the rest of the way to his dorm without it. It was raining so he got soaked, and the temperature dropped below freezing by the time he got back. He caught pneumonia. It was bad. He ended up in the hospital because of it."

Iori sighed, "Yeah, that sounds like Taichi all right."

"I think it nearly killed him. He got the doctors to hush it up so I'm not sure."

"And then?"

"And then a week later Taichi sees the same old wino under the bridge again. He asks the old guy why he wasn't wearing the nice winter jacket that he gave him. The wino yelled that he sold it for more booze. Then he asked for money. And that stupid idiot husband of mine actually gave him some! Argh!"

"So you think that's why you get pissed off at him so often? His over-generosity?"

"It think that's part of it. But I know it's mostly me. For whatever reason, I get more and more upset. He keeps trying to reassure me, and I just get madder and madder at him because of it. The tension builds and builds, over days, and finally I pop off at him and walk out."

"So you think that is the problem? That he is patronizing you?"

"I said I don't know! I guess it's the fact that Mr. Goody Perfect doesn't understand what it's like when I feel like crap. He is always so damn cheery all the time, rain or shine. It just makes me want to punch him."

"So you blame Taichi."

"No, no, no. I told you. I know it's not his fault. I shouldn't be blaming him. It's me."

"And you're right. Your mood swings are not his fault. It's you."

Inaba made a frown. "What, you think I have PMS or something?"

Iori smiled. "Good guess, but no. The mood swings don't follow your menstrual cycle."

"So what is it then? Why do I have these huge mood swings all the time?"

And so Iori told her.

"Inaban, you are showing all the signs of manic-depression."

Inaba blinked her eyes at her.

"I think you have a clinical case of bipolar disorder. You are manic-depressive."

"Oh c'mon."

"I suspect you always had it, even as a child. Think about it. Your mood always swings wildly. It goes from upbeat to depressed and back to upbeat again. Round and round you go."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? You said it yourself. You said you have no idea why you feel like crap sometimes. It happens slowly as you sink down into depression. Eventually you feel so depressed that you run away from him. You stay in bed somewhere moping, sometimes for a week. Am I right?"

Inaba was silent.

"Thought so. Then eventually your mood improves. It gets better, and quickly too. You feel really happy again, and so you reconcile with Taichi. And you get so excited and so full of energy that your libido goes into overdrive. That's when you jump him like a tiger. Then a few weeks or a month later you get mopey again. And so it goes, over and over."

"But Iori, don't manics go wack-o, raving and running in circles and stuff?"

"Many do. But in your case you don't go bonkers like some do. You remain functional."

"You mean I don't start babbling incoherently and not sleep for a week."

"Exactly. When you are in your 'high' state you are actually incredibly productive. I've seen you in that state. You can type 200 words per minute on a keyboard."

Inaba reflected on her past. Iori was right. Whenever she was in her 'high' state her mind worked blazingly fast. She could bang out a thousand of lines of JavaScript or PHP code on her computer in one sitting and it would compile and run bug-free the first time. Her productivity was astonishing.

But when she was in her low state? She couldn't even get out of bed.

Iori went on. "Your cycles tend to be erratic. They go sometimes for a few days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months. I suspect external factors contribute."

Inaba remembered when Heartseed inflicted the 'Unleashed Desires' phenomenon on the members of the StuCS early in their freshman year. She practically tried to rape poor Taichi in the clubroom because of it**. Then she felt mortified and fled. After that she fell into a deep depression. She still came to class, but she talked to no one and went straight home afterwards. She avoided the other club members. At home she stayed in her room and avoided all contact with anyone, including her parents and her brother.

Her depression went on for a full week. Heartseed even visited her and called her on the carpet for hiding in her room all the time. While standing in her bedroom lecturing her, Heartseed had glanced at her PC, which she never turned off. _"Were you surfing the web? Back in middle school that was all you ever did. You spent all your time outside class alone. You were socially active enough that you had no problems at school. But you had no friends."_

She remembered that Heartseed then made a small smile. _"You are a fascinating person, Inaba. Judging from your current state of mind, if your little group of close-knit friends falls apart, then you'll try to destroy the world, won't you? At least that's what I was hoping would happen. Or maybe not." ***_

She shook her head at the memory of that conversation.

_Did Heartseed really mean that? Did he really think that I would try to destroy the world if our group was threatened?_

She remembered that eventually her mood improved. A few days later she returned to the StuCS clubroom again of her own accord.

Iori looked at her sadly. "Dereban, you need to get some help. Professional help."

Inaba frowned. "Wait, are you are saying that I'm mentally-ill or something? That I'm crazy?"

"No, you're not crazy. At least I don't think you are."

Inaba crossed her arms. "I don't think others will be so understanding."

"It doesn't matter what other people think. You need to see a doctor. You need to see a psychiatrist."

Inaba became agitated. "I'm not crazy!"

Iori raised her hands. "Relax, honey. I know you're not crazy. Bipolar disorder is just a side effect of your high IQ. It's quite common with geniuses and creative artists. Lots of really famous people have it, and they are at their most creative and productive in their up cycles: Vincent van Gogh, Virgina Woolf, Georg Cantor, Kurt Cobain, Stephen Fry, Ernest Hemingway, Vivian Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Jackson Pollack."

"That's quite a list."

"Yeah. And they are all really smart and creative people. People like you. See? You're in good company."

Inaba was shaking her head. "I can't believe I missed this.."

Iori continued to reassure her. "It's okay. Just knowing you have it will really help you. Previously when you got really depressed, you just wallowed in self-pity and crashed in bed for a week. And the fact you didn't know why made you even more depressed, creating a negative feedback loop. But now that you know, you can fight it. You can tell yourself 'Hey, this is no big deal. I just happen to be in my down cycle right now. I know I will snap out of it and get better soon.' You see?"

"Okay, fine. Thanks. But what do I do about it?"

"Inaban, you need to see a psychiatrist to get properly diagnosed. There are lots of effective drug treatments for bipolar disorder: lithium, lamictal, symbyax, and others. It depends on which brain chemical is out of whack in your head. It might be serotonin, it might be dopamine, it might be something else. You might be prescribed a mood stabilizer like lithium, or maybe only be given an anti-depressant. The doctor will know."

Inaba remained quiet. She knew that her pregnancy would preclude taking any of those medications. Her bipolar disorder would have to remain untreated for now.

"Iori, I can't be publicly diagnosed as being mentally ill. It would shame my family. My father especially."

It was because mental illness was still considered a major taboo in Japan. Having it was was deemed a major moral defect, a failure of one's person. In Japan it brought great dishonor on one's family. Mentally ill people were shunned and ostracized in Japanese society, and Inaba knew that no one who was diagnosed with a mental illness would ever be allowed to hold a position with any sort of responsibility or authority.

Inaba leaned forward. "Iori, we can't tell anyone about this. Especially not my father."

"Why not?"

"It would dishonor him and my family. I could never be his successor if this got out."

"You think so?"

"Definitely. He's very traditional." She looked down. "I love my father; I could never hurt him. I can't shame him like this."

Iori said simply, "I think you underestimate him."

Inaba looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think he's as traditional as you think he is. At least not in some respects. Your so-called 'traditional' father appointed a woman - a woman! - to run his most successful subsidiary as CEO. And he's grooming you to succeed him yourself, another woman. That is hardly what I would call traditional."

Inaba sighed, "Okay, yeah. Point taken. But otherwise he is as strict and traditional as it gets. He is very strict with his subordinates, and he doesn't tolerate failure or incompetence. He goes to Shinto temple weekly to light incense and give offerings, and he practices Buddhism with Baso. He wears traditional clothing..."

"All true. But you are forgetting one thing."

"Which is?"

"He loves you."

"Huh?"

"Okay, I tell you what. If it bothers you so much, then we'll just keep this a secret between you and me, okay?"

"Sure. I know you're good at keeping secrets."

Inaba then thought about her conversation with Taichi in bed the previous night. "But wait, you already told Taichi, didn't you.."

Iori looked at her sheepishly. "Oh, uh, yeah. I think I did. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Sorry."

Inaba was getting upset. "Why did you do that? Why did you tell him? It wasn't necessary. I could have just taken the meds and everything would have been fine!"

Iori became uncomfortable. "Well, uh, I dunno.. He looked so pitiful.."

"Well, I guess I'll have to trust him to keep his big mouth shut too then."

"I'm sure he will."

"Still, my father can't find out."

Iori shook her head. "I really wish you'd trust him."

"Why?"

"Because you'll need your father to get the help you need. Do you know how incredibly hard it is to see a psychiatrist in this country? It's practically impossible. Like you said, it's a taboo subject. Almost nobody enters the field of psychiatry in college in Japan. We have one of he highest suicide rates in the world and one of the lowest per-capita rates for licensed psychiatrists: about one per 13,000 individuals. It can take a year or more just for the initial appointment! Heck, there are more sex-therapists than psychiatrists in this country! So you'll need your father's clout to grease things so you can get in to see one."

Inaba frowned. "Wait, how do you know so much about psychiatry in Japan?"

Iori put her hand on the back of her head. "Uh, well, uhm, I kinda looked into it once.. for a friend.."

Inaba tsk-tsked. "Right."

Iori remained silent.

_So._ _Iori has her own mental hangups too. I need to figure out why she's so hellbent on slowly killing herself. Iori, the next time the tables will be turned. It will be me locking you into a room and forcing you to listen._

Inaba decided not to broach that subject for now. "Iori, thank you. Just having the diagnosis really helps."

Iori look at her sympathetically. "It does. Trust me. Knowing is half the battle."

Inaba said tearfully, "Iori, thanks.."

"It's okay. We're friends for life, remember?"

"Yeah. You're such a wonderful friend. What would I do without you? Thank you. Thank you so much."

Iori stood up. "You need a big hug."

Inaba stood as well. "Thank you for everything." They embraced.

And the ride ended and the door opened.

Aoki poked his head in to the cab. He said brightly, "Welcome back! Did you two ladies have a nice little ride?"

And then Inaba turned and punched him smartly right on the nose.

* * *

It was early evening. Taichi had not yet returned from work. Inaba was upstairs taking a shower in the master bedroom. She was thinking about everything Iori had told her. She still felt mopey and tired, but now she realized it was merely her down cycle. She refused to let it drag her down.

Inaba got out of the shower and toweled her hair. She continued to think.

_Iori_ _, thank you for telling me._

She kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. It was so obvious in hindsight. Years and years of strife and conflict with Taichi could have been avoided, if only she knew.

She sighed as she wrapped the towel around her head.

Then she looked at herself sadly in the mirror.

It was because she knew that she would not need to see a psychiatrist.

_Too bad it's all moot.._

Inaba clutched her stomach. Then she sighed and looked up at the ceiling in despair.

_.. because in the end, it won't matter._

Iori walked in. "Hey Inaban, I was wondering if you and I might want to.."

Inaba quickly withdrew her hands from her midsection. She had forgotten to shut the bedroom door.

Iori stopped and stared at her friend.

Inaba whirled and said, "W-what do you want? Don't go barging in to my bedroom without knocking!"

But it was too late. Iori had seen her hands and face reflected in the mirror.

Iori continued to stare.

She said softly, "Inaban.."

_No! No! No!_

".. are you pregnant?"

* * *

**A/N:**

* See Episode 13.

** See Episode 6.

*** See Episode 9.


	21. Revelations and Disaster

**Chapter 21: Revelations and Disaster**

Inaba had run away from Iori and had locked herself in the empty eighth bedroom on the third floor. She refused contact with anyone. Iori decided to leave her alone. When Taichi came home, she would explain to him that Inaba was simply in another one of her down cycles, and that she might not come out for a couple days.

Iori knew that Taichi would understand. He would also leave Inaba alone and not try to pester her. That way she would not try to flee the estate.

Iori sat down by herself on the empty four-poster bed. She knew she had to think carefully about what she had just seen. She closed her eyes and absently held her wrists as she looked inward. She dove down deep into the part of her mind that was always so cool, calculating, and analytical.

She knew she would need to eventually talk to Inaba about what she had seen in the bathroom. It had completely shocked Iori when Inaba had become mortified and fled from her gaze. There was now no doubt now in Iori's mind: Inaba was pregnant. Although nothing was showing yet, Inaba's terrified reaction at spotting Iori's reflection watching her as she clutched her own midsection, followed by her panicky flight upstairs, had now confirmed Iori's suspicion beyond any doubt.

Iori knew that Inaba was in no condition right now to handle another major crisis or confrontation, at least not until her mood improved again. She decided to leave Inaba alone until she climbed out of her depressive cycle.

She knew that after Inaba's cycle hit bottom, her mood usually got better quickly, often within a single day. Iori wondered about that. Why did Inaba's mood improve so fast?

With her eyes still closed, Iori's analytical mind considered the question carefully from all angles. After a minute she came to a conclusion. Iori touched the bed and smiled. Inaba's makeup sessions with Taichi were always so intense and over the top.

She made the connection. Of course.

It explained why Inaba's recovery was sometimes so fast.

Iori realized that it was the flood of endorphins during the tiger's attack on her willing prey that had flipped Inaba's mood back to 'happy' so quickly. It was actually an unconscious form of self medication. Inaba was unwittingly using Taichi's body as a psychotropic drug to medicate herself, to quickly bring herself to the 'up' state again.

With her eyes still closed, Iori softly stroked the marital bed with her hands as she continued to smile inwardly. She amused herself with the image forming in her mind's eye of the star wrestler going all out on her jobber husband to mentally pull herself back up again.

_Hmm. Once Inaban finally gets on her meds, I bet there won't be any further epic WWE bedroom matches anymore. Sorry, Taichi._

Taichi soon arrived home from work. He ran upstairs and saw Iori sitting on the master bed alone. He understood. She silently motioned him to sit next to her on the large bed. He did.

She then told him what had transpired during the Ferris wheel ride. She explained that Inaba took her confrontation about Inaba's mental problem better than she had originally expected. Iori was relieved that Inaba had agreed with her diagnosis, and she did not simply go into denial about the whole thing as Iori feared she would. Iori did not mention the choking incident to Taichi, nor did she mention what she had seen in the master bathroom's mirror not twenty minutes ago.

Taichi asked Iori if he should inform the others about Inaba's manic-depression. Iori said that was up to him to decide who to tell. She opined that if she was in his shoes, that she would reveal the secret only to the Pentagon and no one else, then swear them to secrecy. He agreed.

He then asked her if Inaba's father should be told. She advised against it. She said that Inaba should tell her father herself whenever she was ready. But again she said it was up to him to decide. Again Taichi agreed with her and said he would not tell Inaba's father.

Taichi looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I am such an idiot. I've been so worried about her for so long, always trying to help her whenever she was feeling down, trying to cheer her up, and there I was just making things worse. Iori, really, thank you. I am so relieved that you told me about her problem. You are a lifesaver. I owe you so much."

Iori was self-deprecating. "Aw shucks, it was nothing."

He held her hand and leaned forward. "No, I mean it. This will change everything. Iori, you are so incredible. You are the most amazingly wonderful person. Thank you, thank you so much!" He beamed at her as they sat on the bed together. Then he glomped her with a tremendous hug.

She allowed herself to share in his happiness while he hugged her.

_Yeah, I guess I did do a good deed for once. This is such a great feeling. It's been so long so since I felt this way. Thanks, Taichi._

She giggled as she hugged him back.

_You are such a wonderful man. Sigh, if only..._

Then they lost their balance. Iori yelled "whoa!" as they fell on the bed together.

They were now laying side by side.

She stiffened.

She sat up quickly, then she stood up. She turned away.

Taichi leaned on his elbow. "Oops, sorry. Iori, are you okay? I didn't mean to get carried away. I'm just so happy right now because I know that everything between me and Inaba is going to be fine now."

"Forget it. I'm okay. It was just an accident."

"Sorry to bowl you over like that. Look, I really do want to thank you." He got up and approached her from behind. "You've been helping us all so much: Yui and Aoki, Inaba and me. I'm just concerned that no one seems to be helping you. So is there anything that I can do to for you in return? Anything at all?"

She was angry at herself for letting her guard down like that. She continued to look away as she put her mask on. She turned around and said brightly, "I don't need anything. I'm just happy being here, helping everybody, seeing how everyone is back together again. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yeah, it is. Thanks again. Well, if you ever change your mind and need anything, anything at all, let me know."

"Don't worry, I will." She looked him over. "Hey, why don't you get out of those work clothes and come down for dinner? I'll go down now and see how Aoki is doing. He insisted on cooking the whole meal himself."

"I'm sure he's doing a good job. You know, other than him, it seems like you are doing all the work around here. You need a break."

"Aw, I don't mind at all. I love cooking and cleaning. I just hope Aoki is not burning down the house."

She approached the door and opened it. Before she exited the bedroom she turned and said, "By the way, leave the door unlocked tonight. She still might come back."

"Oh, good idea. Thanks."

"Bye, Taichi!" She blew him a kiss, then she left and closed the door behind her.

She was now alone in the hallway. She did a facepalm. She knew that blowing him a kiss like that was overdoing it. It was something an amateur would do, not a pro.

She was getting sloppy because she was still angry with herself for having those thoughts again.

She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. She grabbed her wrists.

_Iori, stop. Don't even think it._

She willed herself calm. Then she looked up at the ceiling. She muttered quietly, "Dammit Heartseed, stop avoiding me."

She sighed and went downstairs to check on how Aoki was doing in the kitchen.

* * *

That night Inaba stayed in her room upstairs.

Heartseed visited her again.

"Hello, Inaba. I sensed that you wanted to see me."

Inaba said sarcastically, "Wow, I'm shocked."

"Shocked?"

"Yeah, for the first time you actually showed up when I was looking for you. Will wonders never cease?"

"Well, I suppose there is always a first time for everything. You have a request of me?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess. You wish to go back in time and erase your existence, correct?"

"Well, I'm not sure actually.. I mean it depends on, uh.."

"Mmm?"

"Look, I just want to know if it is possible. And if it is, what would happen if I never existed."

"Oh, just that?"

"Yes, just that."

"May I ask why you want to erase yourself?"

Inaba looked down. "Because maybe that way Taichi would have had a better life."

"Interesting. Your request is rather ironic."

"Ironic?"

"It is because Nagase has been trying to contact me to make a similar request. For herself."

"What?"

"I am sorry, Inaba, but I will not do that for her, nor will I do it for you."

"B-but why not?"

"Surely the reason is obvious."

"Because you're a bastard?"

He ignored the retort. "It is simple. It is because the world is a much more interesting place with you in it."

She crossed her arms grumpily. "Bah. You know, you are absolutely no help at all."

"Inaba, that is why I will not speak with Nagase, as there is no point in my listening to her request. Like your own request, it would only serve to make things less interesting. Don't you see? You are far too fascinating for me to do anything like that."

"But why? Why am I so fascinating to you?"

"I already told you."

"All right, so why am I so damn 'interesting' then? Compared to the others, I mean?"

"Well, partly it is because you are by far the most volatile member of the Pentagon. Your future path is the most dynamic, and therefore the most difficult to predict."

"How so?"

"Because you have the most potential."

"Potential for what?"

He remained silent.

Inaba was about ready to snap at him again when he finally spoke. "Hmm. I suspect that Rina must have discovered your potential when she scanned your mind. After that it was no small wonder that she suddenly found you so interesting. You must have become irresistible to her."

"Well then. So I guess I turn you weirdos on, eh?"

"No, not like that."

"I was joking!"

"Of course."

Inaba ran her fingers through her hair. "Look, never mind. I just want to know. Tell me how Taichi's life would have unfolded if we had never met. Would Taichi have ended up with Iori? I think the answer is yes. She keeps denying it, but I know her. She'd still go for him."

Heartseed said, "I don't see how this is relevant."

"Please tell me. I need to know."

"Very well then. If you must know, if you did not exist then Taichi would have married Kaoru Setouchi. A year later she leaves him and divorces him, claiming that he is 'boring'. Yui Kiriyama never wakes up from her coma. After leaving prison, Aoki moves away from Yamabochi because the memories of his home town are too painful for him. He moves to Yokohama, where he dies a homeless drunk. Meanwhile, Iori is shot during the police raid that kills Goru. This time she is shot in the stomach instead of in the arm and can no longer bear children as a result. Taichi rescues Iori at the hospital, and Fujishima gets the charges dropped, the same as in this timeline. Iori confesses she is in love with Taichi but refuses to marry him because she feels she is too damaged psychologically and because she cannot give him children. He continues to press her until she reveals a secret: one of her many bed partners had given her a hepatitis B infection that will eventually destroy her liver and take her life - and so she is 'damaged goods'.

"Afterwards she moves in with Fujishima, although she and Taichi remain friends. Taichi almost marries another girl but ends the relationship because he refuses to give up on Iori. Iori angrily tells him to 'get a life and forget me'. Later, Iori is grievously injured by another violent boyfriend. Taichi rescues her a second time. In the hospital they both re-confess their feelings but she rejects him again, citing that she is too damaged. He refuses to give up on her. Eventually she capitulates and they agree to live their lives together for whatever little time she has remaining. They are married in a civil ceremony. However, Taichi dies less than a year later while trying to stop a mugging in a park. Iori manages to live another ten years, then dies of liver failure due to the latent hepatitis B infection."

Inaba remained silent. Finally she asked quietly, "How many years did Taichi live before he died?"

"I don't see how any of this matters."

"Tell me!"

"In that timeline he died at age 30. Nine years from now."

"Nine years.. Would Taichi live longer that way? When does he kill himself in the current timeline?"

"You know I cannot tell you that."

"But you know, yes?"

Heartseed was silent. Inaba understood. His silence was itself an answer.

"I cannot interfere with Taichi's fate, I told you."

She got on her knees begging. "But please.. you have to help him somehow. Or tell me how."

He said, "I am sorry, Inaba."

"Please!"

"This conversation no longer serves any useful purpose." He turned to leave.

"Wait!"

He sighed and stopped. "Yes?"

"What will you do when Rina attacks you?"

He considered her query. "I do not know. When Rina's trap is sprung I suppose that I will figure out what to do. She is quite formidable, but I am rather good at improvising _in extremis_."

"Why is she so powerful?"

"Well, she is actually a hive mind*, you see. One that contains approximately 5000 distinct entities."

"Wow, 5000?"

"Yes. That is what makes her so strong. She can combine all those thousands of intelligences and make them work together. It makes her a rather challenging opponent. Of course, I have some tricks of my own that I do not believe she is aware of, so I should be able to improvise something."

He thought some more. "Hmm. It might be possible that I could use your assistance in that regard."

Inaba got up from the floor and said testily, "Why do you think I would ever help you? You've never helped us before."

"Well, that is for you to decide."

Inaba was confused. Was he referring to the question of whether or not she would decide to help him, or was he referring to the truth or falsity of her claim that he never helped them in the past?

But it was too late. He was gone.

She flopped on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

Fine then.

She decided that, like Heartseed, she would simply figure out what to do when the time came and Rina made her move. There was no use fretting over it now. She would simply wait. After all, whatever will happen will happen. There was no point worrying about the future.

The she realized something.

_Good grief. I am thinking just like Aoki, with his dumb live-life-as-it-comes-I-dont-care philosophy._

_Well, in this particular case, maybe he's right._

She turned over in bed and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

The next day Taichi sat in his cubicle fretting. Everyone in the DRRT was on edge, waiting for the drill to begin at any moment.

Kurosawa had come in to work early as he always did. He performed his morning devotional before starting the day.

_Dear gracious Lord, you are so majestic and wonderful. Your sovereign plan is so elegant, so simple. Please guide me down the proper path, and continue to remind me each and every day to put you first and not myself. As we do this exercise drill tomorrow, please keep my lads from harm. Watch over them and protect them, and give them wisdom and guidance as they learn how to save and rescue others in the most difficult of circumstances._

_And most of all, Lord, please remind me, and them, that we do all of this ultimately for you, for your glory, as your plan continues to unfold, a plan that you devised before the creation of the world - a plan based on love, first from you to us, then from us to you. In the name of your Son, Amen._

Meanwhile, Aoki was downstairs getting trained in. Yesterday, Taichi had shown Kurosawa the newspaper clipping with the editorial about the Kiriyama case. Kurosawa had read it, then asked Taichi some questions about Aoki. Kurosawa had said he could make no promises, but he would see would he could do.

And then, just before Taichi left for home that evening, he had told him to bring in Aoki for an interview the next day.

And so Aoki arrived bright and early with Taichi that morning. He did the interview, and by 10am he was hired as an assistant cook in the main JRCS cafeteria. Kurosawa explained that the hiring was only probationary and that it will depend on how well Aoki performs his new duties. Taichi was relieved and grateful to his sensei. He was thankful that Kurosawa would give someone a second chance who was under such a terrible cloud of shame for a crime that he did not commit.

Kurosawa simply replied cryptically, "We are all under a cloud."

Taichi saw that Kurosawa himself seemed a bit more relaxed that day. He suspected that it was because all of his chess pieces were now set, and everything was ready. It was the calm before the storm.

And so Taichi was not surprised that morning when Kurosawa offered him another lunch date.

* * *

Taichi said, "Sir, I really appreciate the fact that you have the time to have lunch with me when you are so busy."

Kurosawa spun a ball of noodles around his chopsticks. "Oh I don't mind. Not at all. Franky, I am grateful for this short break. I actually find these chats to be rather relaxing."

"I see."

"So, Yaegashi, have you thought about the little homework assignment that I gave you from last time?" He stuffed the noodles in his mouth.

"Yes, I did some research on it over the weekend. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1512. It is considered the highpoint of renaissance art. The most famous scene is the one with God's hand reaching out to Adam."

"Good, that was the section of the painting that I was thinking of. Did you see anything noteworthy in that particular part of Michelangelo's painting?"

"I did. God is leaning way forward, striving, His hand outstretched to Adam. Meanwhile Adam is leaning back, with his finger just short, by less than an inch."

"Excellent, you spotted that. You see, all Adam needed to do was extend his finger just a little bit more, and he and God would have connected."

"But he didn't."

"No, he stopped an inch short. And so Adam fell."

"But I don't understand. Why didn't God simply try harder?"

"How so?"

"I mean, why didn't God just stretch His hand out a teeny bit more?"

"Because if He reached His hand out a bit father, Adam would have simply leaned back a bit more. They still would not have connected. They never would have."

"But why not?"

"Because the problem isn't with God, the problem is with Adam. Or rather, with us. We always fall short. We don't connect. We don't listen to Him. We ignore Him. Sometimes we deny that He even exists at all."

Taichi nodded. "I know that many people think that God simply does not exist. So why doesn't He do something to make His presence totally obvious to everybody?"

"Ah. Are you are asking, why doesn't God simply extend His hand all the way out? Why doesn't He, say, order His angels to appear everywhere in the sky? Run around for everyone to see? Guide everyone, and help people with miracles everywhere? Things like that?"

"Well, yeah."

"Because it's too much. It's overkill."

"Overkill?"

Kurosawa stabbed a small rolled omelette and popped it into his mouth. "Well, let's step back for a moment. Remember when I told you that the nature of creation says something about its creator? That by looking at how the universe works, we can learn something about the person who designed it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, in physics there is something called the Standard Model, which physicists have been carefully constructing for decades. Basically, it attempts to describe mathematically the behavior of all of the elementary particles in the universe. During the past 60 years or so, the Standard Model has been very successful. It has correctly predicted the existence of several new elementary particles that have since been observed in particle accelerators, most famously the Higgs boson."

He picked up a tempura battered shrimp and bit into it. "Now, one way to describe the Standard Model mathematically is by creating an equation called the Lagrangian, which represents all of the dynamics of a physical system. I won't bother explaining the math. The point is, the Lagrangian actually has an infinite number of valid solutions for any physical system. And so to get around that little problem, physicists invoke the _Principle of Least Action_. PLA asserts that nature tends to follow the most direct route to get the job done. It chooses the path of minimum effort to get the desired effect. In other words, elementary particles don't just zig-zag around willy-nilly on a whim. Photons always move in straight lines, balls always move in parabolic arcs, and so on. Otherwise nothing useful could be predicted and the whole model would be useless.

"PLA asserts that nature always chooses the simplest and most direct method to make something happen. It is basically an example of Occam's Razor: don't multiply things unnecessarily. And the Standard Model is very successful because of it. It has been proven correct over and over. So it seems that PLA is real. It is a basic property of how the universe works.

"Taichi, don't you see? That is God's style. He always does that. He always chooses the path of minimum effort to get the desired effect."

Taichi understood. "You mean like how He only told twelve disciples."

"Exactly! Twelve witnesses were all that was necessary to get the word out."

"In other words, God is an elegant minimalist."

Kurosawa beamed at him. "Bingo! You got it. Well done, lad!" He sipped his tea. "Now, there is a very good reason why He always uses such a light touch when dealing with us."

"Which is?"

"Because God is too overwhelming to do it any other way. He is too mighty to directly meddle in our little affairs like that. It would overwhelm everything. Nobody would survive that kind of power if it was exerted directly upon us." He stabbed another small omelette. "He is just too strong for us to face Him directly, at least not without help. Moses had the closest thing to direct contact, and he almost got fried.

"You see, God's greatest commandment for us on this earth is to love one another. But He doesn't force us to do it. Why? Because it would violate both free will and PLA. That is why you never see, say, angels flittering around trying to make people love one another - for example by transmitting their thoughts and emotions to each other, or by temporarily swapping their bodies, or predicting the future of our various choices. It's way too intrusive, you see. That's why angels never do anything like that."

Taichi blinked his eyes slowly. "Uh, yes.. way too intrusive."

"Exactly. It would be wrong to do that. Instead, the Lord gave us a different way to make contact. A unique way and very special way. He gave us a living bridge, a Person, someone who could connect the finite to the infinite, and who could die just like us, so that we could make contact with Him, so we could finally bridge that gap where Adam failed."

"Jesus."

"Yes. He's a special modification to the rules. A necessary one. What I call a 'hack'. Not an error or a mistake, but rather a special exception to the rules that is necessary to make everything work right."

"A necessary one?"

"Oh yes. Physicists have found special hacks in the design of the universe all over the place. For example, Dark Energy (DE) is a hack. So is Dark Matter (DM). They both make up 95% of the observable universe. There's no reason for them to exist. The Standard Model cannot explain them. Nobody knows why they are there. There's no reason for it. It's just there. And without either one, neither you nor I would be having this conversation right now.

"Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism contain a another gross hack. The fourth equation, Ampere's Law, has an extra term that sticks out glaringly. It messes up the nice symmetry with the other three equations. You don't even need to know any mathematics. Just look at a picture of the four equations and you can see this extra term sticking out like a sore thumb. You see, it's another hack. The van der Waals electroweak force is another one. It is a hack to make proteins fold and ice float. Hacks like this can be found everywhere in the design of the universe. They are not mistakes; they are simply necessary for everything to work right. Jesus is like that too. He is an exception, a special modification to the rules, that is required to make things work right in God's plan for us."

"So Jesus is necessary, then."

"Emphatically. Someone like Jesus has to exist. It's required."

"But why?"

"Because everything must balance. All of the universe is based on symmetry. It's the most basic rule in nature. Everything in nature is conserved: momentum is always conserved, energy is always conserved, electric charge is always conserved. Everything. The books have to balance. Always."

"Always."

"Yes, always. The central concept - that the books must always balance - is the foundational principle of how the whole universe works. It is probably the number one organizing principle of, well, everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes, everything. It includes the notion that the cost, the debt, the price, must always be paid. And yes, that even includes the theory of justice as well. The books must always balance."

"Wait, justice?"

"Yaegashi, it is simply how the universe works. In the end everything must balance. Everything. That debt, that price, must always be paid. Always. No exceptions."

"I get it. That's why we need Him."

"Yes. Thanks to Jesus the bill gets kicked upstairs and paid on our behalf. And there's more. He is also our bridge, the conduit, to connect us with the Father."

"How?"

Kurosawa rolled up some more noodles. "Let's take another step back again. Remember, all creation is a demonstration exercise, done by God, for our benefit. Otherwise it wouldn't have been so carefully designed to be visible to us across billions of light years. It's too wildly improbable to be that way by chance. And so God wants us to see, to understand, and to appreciate what He has done. The whole point of Creation is for His glory. Of Him: The universe, the heavens, life large and small, from the largest galactic super-cluster down to the smallest bacterium, and everything in-between. And it is no accident that it is all visible to us, that we can actually see it all, that we can see the whole glory of Creation, which shines as a reflection of His own glory.

"For His glory."

"Yes. Glorification, that's the key to the whole thing. God is saying, 'Look upon my Creation and see what I have done, for I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.' This is what He basically told Job when He admonished him for complaining about why his life sucked so bad. In response God ticked off a long list of his greatest creations, then He asked Job if he was there when He created them. 'Were you there? Do you how they were done? Answer me!' He was telling Job to shut-up and get a clue, that he was failing to give God the praise and honor that was due to Him regardless of our life circumstances. This is what Job failed to understand as he wallowed in his own self-pity."

Kurosawa put down his chopsticks and stopped eating. Taichi knew that meant he was getting serious.

"Yaegashi, I will now reveal to you something else, something that is really deep. Something that only mature Christians know. It took me a lifetime to figure it out."

"Which is?"

"What it means to 'glorify' something. It's the key. At first it seemed really confusing to me. If God has all the glory, then how can we glorify Him? How can we give Him something, glory, that He already has? On the surface it doesn't seem to make sense.

"And the answer is rather deep. In John 17:22-23, Jesus spoke the following prayer in front of His disciples, '[Father] the glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity.' I tried to think carefully about what He just said.

"I didn't understand it at first. It took me years to finally figure out what was going on when He spoke those words. Originally it seemed incredibly confusing to me. I couldn't grasp what He was saying. Jesus appears to be giving God's glory to _us_! Huh? How can that be? Shouldn't glory always flow in the other direction? From us to Him? And doesn't He have all the glory already anyway?"

Kurosawa leaned forward, his eyes shining bright. "Then I finally understood it: Glory is the vehicle that conveys and reveals the true presence of God: His essence, His life, His identity. Glorification is a _process_ , a transfer mechanism."

"You mean it flows both ways."

"Yes. It is bidirectional. Glory flows from us to Him and from Him to us. But the latter happens only when our minds are unified with His own via the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus meant when He said that we ourselves receive glory when we are 'perfected in unity', and 'we are one'. It is intimacy, with Him."

"That sounds so wonderful."

"Yes, it is."

Kurosawa picked up his chopsticks and ate another omelette. "So now, Yaegashi, I think you are finally ready to understand another important and fundamental concept."

"Which is?"

"The method used to establish that relationship with Him: Prayer, what it actually is, why it is necessary, and how it works. You think you can tell me based on our discussion so far?"

Taichi thought hard. "Hmm. It's a communication channel. A bidirectional one, between us and Him. It is the means to transmit that intimacy, called glorification."

Kurosawa would have jumped out of his chair if he could. "Yes! Yaegashi my boy, that's brilliant! Well done! Yes. And that is why sin is so terrible, because it causes that unity to break as we separate ourselves from Him in our own sinfulness."

Taichi understood. "Because God cannot abide any sin in His presence, because otherwise it would break that unity, that flow of glory, that is embodied in that transfer mechanism called glorification."

"Sadly so. And that is why sin must always be cast out, because it breaks our communion with Him. Our intimacy."

Taichi asked, "So does that mean you have to be saved first before you can pray and be heard?"

Kurosawa shook his head. "Oh no. No, no. You can do it anytime. Anyone can do it. And they do. There is a very good reason why there are no atheists in a foxhole or on a plummeting jetliner. Imminent death tends to focus the mind, you see."

Taichi chuckled.

Kurosawa frowned. "Yaegashi, I'm not joking. I think one of the reasons why so many bad things happen to us - like natural disasters and such - is for precisely for that reason."

"Sorry sir."

"Eh, don't worry about it. Eat your food."

He checked the time. "I have another meeting in ten minutes so I need to leave. You go finish your meal. You've hardly touched it."

Taichi started eating again.

"Sorry for dumping so much on you in one sitting, Yaegashi. I just wanted to tell you all this before the drill." Then he sighed. "The after-action paperwork is a such a nightmare. It takes me forever to finish it all. I might not have time for another lunch like this again for weeks."

"Yes sir, and thank you for giving me so much of your time. I know how busy you are."

Kurosawa waved him off. "Oh, think nothing of it. Just go eat your noodles before they get cold." He backed his wheelchair away from the table and left the cafeteria.

_Well, I have done everything I can for the boy, I think. The rest is up to Him now._

* * *

Inaba came out of her room at noon. She sat in the dining room and ate lunch with the others, but otherwise did not interact with anybody. The others respected her wishes and left her alone.

Everyone watched her leave the table in silence. Yui and Anzu glanced at Iori. They saw her somber expression as her eyes tracked Inaba out of the room. She remained in her seat.

After lunch, Inaba sat at her computer and did a few more market trades on the Nikkei. She didn't try anything big or complex, as she just wasn't in the mood for doing anything risky or tricky that day. Eventually she closed the VPN link. She switched to another folder and opened a file. It contained a complicated script written in the computer language Python**, one that she had completed almost two weeks earlier. She reviewed the script and nodded to herself. Then she closed the file and the folder.

She stared at the empty screen. Eventually she quietly laid her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

She was startled when her cellphone chimed. Had she fallen asleep? She pulled her head up and checked the caller ID. It was Steve Anderson.

_Good. Maybe he can help me take my mind off things._

* * *

Inaba entered Steve's luxury apartment building and wiped off her shoes. It was because Steve had invited Inaba to his home to discuss what he claimed was 'an incredible business opportunity'. He said it was too dangerous to discuss it over the phone.

Steve greeted her at the door graciously. "Himeko, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, come in."

He was wearing tan dress slacks, brown shoes, and a form-fitting turtleneck sweater that subtly showed off his physique. Inaba came in wearing a just a jean jacket and blue jeans.

If Steve was at all put off by Inaba's decidedly very casual appearance, he did not show it. Indeed, he positively beamed at her and graciously helped her remove her jean jacket. He caught his breath slightly when he saw that she was wearing nothing but a white tank top with a sports bra underneath.

She looked at herself apologetically, then spoke to him in English. "Sorry, I was at the gym when you called me. I didn't have time to go home and change clothes."

Steve replied, "Oh, I understand completely. You look wonderful. _De kite kudasai, Himeko-san._ ***"

She smiled as she entered his penthouse apartment. She took a chance and did not remove her shoes. He missed it. Instead he closed the front door behind her and locked it. Then he placed his hand on the small of her back and escorted her inside. With his other hand he gestured towards the living room. "Do you like it?"

The penthouse apartment was huge. It was decorated in a decidedly non-Japanese style, with throw rugs on the floor and two large couches that faced a fake western-style fireplace. Various modern pieces of art and knick-knacks were strewn about. On the walls she saw American paintings by Andy Warhol and LeRoy Neiman. She suspected that not all of them were reproductions.

Steve escorted her towards one of the long couches. As they crossed the living room she spied a set of closed double-doors on the left. She pointed at them. "Oh, is that your dining room? May I see it?" She quickly moved in that direction.

"Himeko, uh, please wait.." She ignored him and threw open the double doors. She saw what was inside.

Meanwhile, Steve became a little bit flustered.

What flustered Steve was not the dining room itself, with its tasteful modern decor. Nor was it because Inaba saw a full-height western-style dining table with a glass top in the center of the room.

It was because on that glass table were two place settings and two lit candles. A crystal vase containing a single red rose stood as the table's centerpiece. Quiet mood music was playing on hidden Harman-Kardon 8.1 speakers.

It was all too blatant to be ignored. Inaba turned and asked him (again in English), "Steve, what is this? You told me over the phone that this was only a business meeting. You said nothing about my having a meal with you."

Steve approached her. "Well, I thought we might discuss it over a little wine and cheese.."

"With candles and mood music?"

He got even closer. "Trust me, you'll like this proposition."

She took a step back. "Steve, please."

"Himeko.. I can set you up for life." Another step forward.

Another step back. "I told you. I am happily married."

He held her arms. "I know you are. We have absolute privacy here. No one will know. I did a quick check on that husband of yours. He's a shlub. A nobody."

"Steve, now wait.."

"It's okay. I've done this before.. well, back in New York anyway. Nobody ever finds out. It'll be fine."

Inaba tried to pull away. "Steve, no."

He gripped harder. "Himeko, I told you, I can set you up for life. I promise you that your husband will never know."

She tried to pull her arm away. "Please let me go."

He was beginning to get angry with her. "Look, I'm not asking for much, not compared to everything that I've given you. Just do it this once. That's all I'm asking. Just once."

She said quietly but firmly, "No. No means no. And a contract is a contract." Her face was stern. "I never promised you anything more. I made that very clear."

He suddenly shoved her up against a wall. "Hey, I paid you 40% on that deal! Not 20%! That's over a million dollars! I paid all that for you!"

"For me?"

"Yes! And it means that I own you!"

Her face darkened. "Nobody owns me."

"Well, I do now. And goddamit, I want a return on my investment!"

She was defiant. "And if I refuse?"

He tripped her and she fell onto the throw-rug. Steve was on top of her in an instant. The six foot man then pinned her arms down.

"Then I will collect on my investment anyway."

Inaba looked scared. "Steve, please, don't. This is rape."

Steve gave her a malicious grin. "And so what if it is? Remember, you need my recommendation. The walls are soundproof. I won't hurt you if you don't struggle. Some tried, and believe me they paid dearly for it. So just lie back and enjoy it."

_Steve, I got you._

Those were exactly the words she wanted to hear. She spoke up at the ceiling. "Recording off."

"What?"

"I just recorded you. The voice app in my smartphone in my jacket behind you. It's uploading to my server right this second."

"You.. you bitch. I'll kill you."

"Recording gamma."

She gave him a grin. "Heh, sorry, I lied."

"Huh?"

"I wanted to get your death threat on tape too. I figured you'd pop off like that if I revealed to you that I was recording you. Now the recorder is really turned off."

His eyes began to widen. Meanwhile she looked up at him almost sympathetically. Almost. "Oh Steve, you make this too easy."

He became furious. "You bitch! I really will kill you!" He raised his right hand from her left shoulder to go for her throat.

She was expecting it. As soon as he released her left shoulder she instantly did a bridge and threw him completely off balance. As she pushed him up he let go with his other hand. She then did a face-to-face german suplex wrestling move on him. She grappled his chest and used her legs as levers on his midsection to flip him forward and over her head. He slammed down hard on the floor behind her, laying flat on his back.

He was stunned and spread-eagled on the hardwood floor. Before he could recover she jumped up and expertly performed Yui's Finishing Move Number One*4 right between his legs.

"Steve, do you like my new steel tipped walking shoes? I purchased them on the way over here."

While he was still writhing on the floor, she unplugged an extension cord that was attached to a free-standing lamp. She yanked the other end out of the far wall. As she was rolling up the extension cord she lectured him. "Don't you know that in Japan the guests are always supposed to remove their shoes?"

And then, before he could recover, she had expertly hog-tied him on the floor.

She then sat on the couch and played with her smartphone for a little while. She checked the trading summaries on her Nikkei accounts, then she emptied and terminated them.

Eventually his pain began to subside a bit. He struggled but couldn't move.

She stood up, kneeled down, and gently touched his blond hair. "Steve, my dear, I decided that I don't need your referral letter after all. You use your money and influence to entice and entrap women, just like you tried to do to me. How many innocent girls have you hurt this way?"

She stood up again and put on her jean jacket. "And that kind of pisses me off, you know? So I am going to take extra delight in dealing with you."

He struggled to sit up. He glared at her defiantly and yelled hoarsely, "I'm a name in this town and on Wall Street! I'm untouchable! I'll ruin you! Wreck your reputation! You're still a nobody!"

"Am I?"

He rasped, "You're a kid! You have no rep. There's no proof you did those trades. They are all under my name, not yours!"

"Actually, they are." She looked at her smartphone and confirmed her accounts were terminated, then she closed the browser app.

She went on to explain. "I opened a second Nikkei account and only transferred the funds to yours. I did the actual trades under a different name. You were always careful to only check up on me using your encrypted home VPN link right here in this apartment. You never checked on me at Nomura nor on your phone. Normally that's smart, as those could be monitored. But you see, I had remotely hacked your home router's DNS proxy to redirect it to my own server, and I filtered everything you did in this apartment through it, including your access to the Nikkei. Whenever you looked at your personal trading account that I was supposed to be using, I redirected it to my own personal account and changed the headers to make the trades look like they were coming from your own. Now I have an impressive trading record under my own name. Thanks, Steve!"

"That's bull[bleep]. You're bluffing. Himeko Yaegashi had no account. I know because I phoned the exchange myself and checked, just in case. The Nikkei verifies all identities and doesn't allow fake names!"

She smiled indulgently at him. "Steve, very good, you checked. And you are right, the exchange does not allow false names. So I created the account under my maiden name: Himeko Inaba. That's perfectly legal."

"Wait.. your surname is Inaba? You're a member of that Inaba family? The one that owns the big textile keiretsu?"

She leaned over him. "Steve, my dear, I _am_ the Inaba keiretsu. Or rather I will be when my father steps down."

He tried to absorb the information. "Wait, are you talking about that nasty old business tycoon who owns Inaba Textiles and Trading.. what's his name.. Daisuke Inaba? You are saying you are his daughter?"

"I am."

"I heard of him. His reputation. He's a ruthless bastard.." The realization began to hit him.

"Yeah, my father can be quite nasty if you try to [bleep] with him. If you are his friend or business partner there is no greater ally, but if you cross him or breech a contract with him there is no greater enemy." She smiled. "I try to take after him."

"He destroys people!"

"Yep."

"Wait.. Himeko, let's talk."

"Don't worry, the original reason I had agreed to your little business proposition was to see if I could succeed in the financial world on my own. So I won't go running to daddy. It's not my style."

He was relieved. "Oh, thank you. Thank you. All right, let's discuss this. What do you want?"

Then her phone chimed. She raised an eyebrow.

She answered it.

Inaba switched to Japanese. Steve concentrated as he tried to follow the phone conversation.

"Father? This is rather unexpected. I'm fine, thank you for asking. Yes I apologize that I haven't called you lately. Taichi is doing fine too. Huh? I'm standing in his apartment. How did you know?" Her voice got angry. "Father! Were you having me tailed? I told you I can take care of myself!" Then her voice softened. "Oh, sorry. Yes, I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. Uh, yeah, he's all tied up and can't come to the phone right now. Yes, I have it on tape, the gamma gambit. Hmm? I cleared about 250 million yen before taxes. Yes, I know it's low. Next time I'll try to do better. So where did your operative hide it in here, anyway?"

She listened, then she walked up to Steve's bookcase with the phone still pressed to her ear. "Which shelf?" She pulled out a large hardcover book, _Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason_. "Good choice. Nobody reads that insufferable boring bastard." She flipped open the book and looked at the spycam and mic that were embedded inside. "Wow, that's the latest model. 1080p with infrared. Nice. How do you keep it powered? Ooh, microwave beam? That's so cool!"

Inaba showed her prey what was hidden inside the book. She switched to English. "Steve, check this out. It is really state of the art."

The blood completely drained from Steve's face.

She resumed her phone conversation in Japanese. "What? Don't worry, like I said I'm fine. I was about to call the police. Oh? No? Don't bother? You'll take care of it? Very well. I understand completely. Yes, I'll be leaving before they get here. Goodbye." She hung up.

Meanwhile, Steve worked out the translation in his head. He was drenched in sweat.

Inaba started to walk out.

"No! Wait! Don't leave me here for his goons like this!"

She switched to English again. "Yes?"

Steve leaned forward on the floor. "I'll do anything! Give you anything you want!"

"Really?"

"Anything! Anything at all!"

"Okay then, this is what I want. Now pay attention."

"All right. I'm listening."

She kneeled down, raised her hand to his ear, and whispered very quietly: "I keylogged all your passwords, including that hidden account in the Bahamas."

Then she stood and showed him her famous patented Inaba Nasty Grin™ *5.

"Heh."

Before he could react, she casually pushed a button on her smartphone. A Python script started running.

"Now don't worry, I picked out several nice charities in the United States for you to donate all your holdings to. You are going to help a lot of people, Steve."

She turned the phone screen so that he could see the script running over her RDS link. He peered at it. He saw that all of his accounts were being drained.

"Noooooo!"

She snapped a photo of his face at that exact moment with her phone.

She showed it to him. "Perfect! That is exactly what I wanted. Thanks, Steve!"

She left.

* * *

Steve untied himself and fled the apartment before Daisuke Inaba's cleaners arrived. They simply looked around, removed the surveillance gear, and left.

The next day there was an article about Steve Anderson in the Wall Street Journal. It reported that he was being investigated by the Manhattan DA's office for the alleged sexual assault of several young women. Apparently the newspaper was tipped off about the ongoing investigation from an anonymous source. Later that day he was fired from Nomura Holdings, citing a morals clause in his contract. Japan was still a socially conservative country, and such scandalous behavior could never be countenanced by any respectable Japanese corporation.

Meanwhile, Steve had disappeared. He was soon tracked to a small flat in Tokyo. Apparently he had pawned his Rolex watch - the only remaining asset he had - and was living off the proceeds. The Ministry of Justice was tipped off as to his whereabouts, and so they served him with an Interpol arrest warrant that was issued by the Manhattan DA's office. He fled to avoid extradition and finally ended up in Brazil.

The last anyone had heard of Steve, he was working as the numbers man for a financial firm in the city of Brasilia that laundered money for a major Brazilian drug cartel. Apparently two major drug gangs, the one in Brasilia and another one in São Paulo, had both put out a contract hit on him when a money laundering deal that he had arranged between the two gangs went sour. It was because a mysterious hacker had intercepted the funds in mid-transfer. Both gangs accused Steve of the theft, and he barely escaped with his life. It was speculated that to avoid the hit-men that he had fled deep into the Amazonian jungle.

Steve was never seen again. It was rumored that he had escaped to Bolivia but it was never confirmed. The fact that a year later a Brazilian anthropologist who was studying the primitive Kulina tribe deep in the Amazon jungle had seen one of its members wearing a strange yellow pelt on his head was deemed to be purely a coincidence.

* * *

As soon as Inaba re-entered the mansion, Iori spotted her. She ran to the front door. "Dereban! Welcome back!" Iori then saw the blue-jeans and jean-jacket ensemble that Inaba had on. She tilted her head and asked, "Wait, why are you wearing my clothes?"

Inaba was a bit startled at running into Iori so quickly. She tried to apologize. "Oh, uh, sorry for borrowing your clothes without asking."

Iori crossed her arms and smiled. "That's okay. I don't mind you wearing my outfits. It just surprised me because my blue-collar togs usually aren't your style. Did you wear those because you were planning on riding a motorcycle or something?"

Inaba grinned. "No, it was because I was expecting a rumble."

"Heh, same thing."

"Hmm?"

"I wore that back when I was in a motorcycle gang."

That surprised Inaba. Not the fact that Iori was a biker chick at one time, but rather because it was the first time that Iori had disclosed anything about her past.

Inaba was still feeling moody and depressed, but this was an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up. It was a chance to better understand Iori and possibly help her with her own demons.

"That sounds very exciting."

"It was."

"You know, I'd love to hear about it."

"Sure. Want to go for a walk?"

"Love to."

Iori threw on a windbreaker and they went out together.

_Very clever, Iori. You dangled your past in front of me to trick me into talking with you again in private. That way you can interrogate me about the baby. Well, your trick won't work. This time the focus will be on you._

* * *

It was a party-cloudy afternoon with a good breeze. Iori and Inaba were walking down into the woods that stood behind the estate. The mansion was located on the top of a hill that sloped down gradually in front and steeper in the back. They could see a lake in the distance, and so they decided to walk down to its edge and explore it.

Because of the altitude it was more than a little windy and chilly. Iori zipped up her windbreaker. Inaba left her jean jacket open. Apparently she didn't mind the cooler weather so much.

Iori asked as they walked down the hill together, "So, did you have fun with your little rumble tumble?"

"Yeah, I did. It was actually very therapeutic. I feel a lot better now."

"That's good. And the other guy?"

Inaba made a thin-lipped smile. "Father is dealing with him."

Iori winced. "Ouch. Sucks to be him."

"Yeah, heh."

There was a pause.

"Iori, thank you for letting me know about my being bipolar."

Iori was self-deprecating again. "It's nothing, really. Somebody else would have eventually figured it out."

Inaba turned, "But that's the thing. I had this problem all my life and nobody noticed it."

"Oh, we all noticed it all right. We just didn't understand why."

"Still, thank you. I owe you so much."

"I said forget it. We're friends, remember? This is what friends do for each other."

They continued to walk in silence until they reached the bottom of the hill, then they followed a path through the woods that led towards the lake.

Inaba said, "You know, this reminds me of our field trip in our first year."

"You mean the one where I tried to make Taichi carry me?"

"Yeah. That was pretty transparent, by the way. You were practically groping him, you skank."

"Ooh, burn! Hey, give me a break. I was just a kid. I didn't even realize how strong I was coming on to him at the time. Little miss innocent me, heh."

"Innocent my foot. You were hitting on him like a ton of bricks and you knew it."

Iori decided to tease her. "And like you weren't, little miss kiss stealer?"

"Ouch, touché."

"Heh. Still, I'm happy for you."

More silent walking.

Finally Inaba asked, "So what happened after our big fight?"

Iori found a small round rock on the path. She kicked it.

She kept kicking it in front of her as she walked. Meanwhile, Inaba waited.

Iori shrugged. "Well, there's not that much to tell really."

"Go on."

"I tried to enroll in Kyosho University, but I didn't get accepted."

Inaba already knew that much. "And then?"

"Instead I enrolled in the local two-year community college to get a teaching certificate. You know I always wanted to be a teacher.*6"

"So, did you finish and get the certificate?"

"Almost, but no, I dropped out. Then I coasted a while."

"Coasted?"

"Yeah. I started drifting kind of aimlessly. One day I was sitting on a bench at a park just watching people, and this guy who was walking his dog sat with me. He looked cute. He chatted me up. It obvious that he was hitting on me, but he seemed nice, so I let him. He took me out a couple times. One night we both got drunk and I slept with him. I wasn't planning on doing it at the time."

"It happens."

"Yeah. But then he told me he was married."

"Oops."

Iori sighed. "I should have known. And I'll be damned if I'm going to be a home-wrecker for some poor woman and her kids. So I dumped him right then."

"And?"

"I drifted again. Another guy picked me up at the grocery store. Yeah, I ended up sleeping with him too. I discovered that I liked hooking up. No strings attached. I just didn't care. Then I started going to bars. I went home with a different guy every night."

"Iori.."

"Like I said, I didn't care. Then one day a big nasty biker gang showed up. They terrorized the whole bar and scared everybody. Except me. I wasn't afraid because I didn't care, so I sauntered right up to the big head biker guy and told him to please stop scaring everybody. He laughed. He said he was impressed with my moxie. Then he took a fancy to me. I went back to the gang's hangout. He said he'd kill anyone who touched me."

"So you became the head biker's girlfriend."

"Yeah. I rode on his back and became the lead biker chick. It was really fun. I even got respect from the other members. We drove all over the country. He even told me he wanted some day to settle down, get married, have kids even."

"Then what happened?"

"He was shot in the back by some Yakuza when a drug deal went bad."

"Oh."

There was another pause.

Finally Inaba asked, "And then?"

She could see that Iori was hesitating.

"Iori, if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay."

Finally Iori said, "No, it's not really a big deal.. I'll tell you, but it is a little embarrassing, so I'd rather you keep it to yourself."

Inaba immediately replied, "I promise. Nobody will know."

"Okay. Well, without his protection the other gang members decided that I was to be their plaything. I got passed around. I didn't resist. I just didn't care. Then one day one of the other drug dealers in another gang got mad at seeing me like that, and he told them to stop. He grabbed my wrist and took me over to his place. He said he'd protect me."

"Phew, so you finally met a nice guy, huh?"

"Yeah. And he kept me safe. I liked him."

"Good."

"He was of the nicer ones. His name was Goru."

"What?"

"Yep."

Inaba couldn't believe it. "Wait, you mean that.. that creep that I rescued you from was.. your protector?"

"Yep. Isn't it ironic? I admit he was kind of possessive though."

"I saw the bruises on your face and wrists!"

"That wasn't him. He never hit me, ever. Sure he threatened and blustered a lot. He did that to everybody. But he was a nice guy underneath all that bluster. He tried to look like a scary violent guy on purpose, to keep from getting robbed or attacked. That's why he owned that fake gun."

Iori looked down. "But all that stupid male bravado only got himself killed when the police came in. I miss him."

"I'm sorry.. I didn't know."

"It's okay."

Iori tried to assuage Inaba's feelings of guilt. "No, I mean it, Dereban. You saved me. You rescued me. You really did. I am so thankful for that."

"Still.."

"No, you did the right thing. Don't you see, Dereban? Like I said, this is what friends do. We help each other."

"Yeah, we do."

"Friends forever?"

Inaba gave her a gentle smile.

"Friends forever."

Iori shifted her hand, and Inaba grasped it. They interlocked their fingers together as they walked down the woodland path.

As she grasped Iori's hand, Inaba noticed something on her wrist.

"I'm so glad we're back together again."

"Me too."

Iori kicked her rock again.

After another minute Inaba decided to ask. "So how come the underside of your wrist is still black and blue? I thought your wrists would have healed by now."

Iori almost tripped. She yanked her hand away and shoved both of them deep into the pockets of her windbreaker.

"Uh, it's nothing. Just old tattoos that didn't come off."

"Oh."

More silence.

They finally reached the lake. Iori kicked her round rock into the water with a small splash.

They found an old fishing dock and walked out onto it. There they sat down. Iori took off her walking shoes, as did Inaba.

Iori picked up one of Inaba's hiking boots and inspected it curiously. "Hmm. A big heavy waffle-stomper? These are not your style, Dereban." She noted the reinforced tips.

"It was my style today."

"Huh? Oh.. oh! Ha-ha-ha! I hope you didn't make him sterile."

"I wish. The world would be a better place."

"And your father is after him too. Wow, remind me never to become your enemy, Dereban."

They sat together on the dock and soaked their tired hot feet in the cool water. Inaba started making whorls in the water.

As they soaked their feet, they watched a pair of geese paddle through a thicket of brown cattails off in the distance.

Finally Iori said quietly, "Dereban, you're pregnant."

Nothing.

Iori smiled. "Hey, it's okay. I'm so happy for you. Don't worry so much. You are going to be a great mother."

Inaba finally spoke. "I can't even imagine it. I never had a mother myself, not a real one. I have no idea what to do."

"Dereban, I am sure you'll do fine. I'll help give you tips, show you and Taichi how to change diapers and stuff."

"Yeah, like you know anything about parenting."

Iori remained quiet. Finally she said, "Why haven't you told Taichi?"

Inaba continue to look down at her feet and spin more whorls.

Iori narrowed her eyes. "I mean, it's his, right?"

Inaba's head snapped up. "Of course it is!"

"All right, so what's the problem then? I know how badly he wants children. And he would be a wonderful father."

"Yeah, he would." Inaba looked up at the horizon. "And you are right, he wants children more than anything. Almost more than life itself."

"No doubt. And if there was a problem with you working away from home, I bet he would volunteer to become Mr. Mom while you went out and did your high-flying captain-of-industry thing."

"He would."

Iori tilted her head. "Okay, then. I don't get it. Why the big secret? Do you think that your father might not approve of the gender role reversal - that he'd demand you stay home and become a housewife?"

"I used to think so. Now I'm not so sure."

"Honestly, I think your father would be fine with it. In fact I'm almost sure of it. But either way, surely you could still at least tell Taichi?"

Silence.

Iori sighed. She knew that if she pressed the issue any further that Inaba would simply run away and hide again. She would learn nothing, and she needed to know what was going on inside her head. So instead she said, "Look, it's okay. I won't pester you about it."

"Thank you."

Then Inaba looked down at the water. Finally she said quietly, "Iori, could you just sit with me?"

Iori shifted closer until they were touching, shoulder to shoulder. "As long as you want."

Inaba then rested her head on Iori's shoulder. "Thanks. You're such a blessing."

"I'm actually kind of a stinker."

"Heh."

More time passed. Iori and Inaba continued to look down at the water. They saw a school of silvery minnows slowly drift pass in the current. Inaba splashed her legs and they scattered in all directions.

Eventually, Iori closed her eyes.

She needed time to think.

She was able to understand Inaba's initial panicky knee-jerk reaction to the blessed news. It was classic Inaba. She would want to end the pregnancy immediately and secretly. The reasons were several: It was too soon, she could never be a good mother, her father would be saddened at losing his successor, she would be giving up her lifelong ambition in order to conform to traditional Japanese roles, and Taichi might die and she would end up raising a child alone.

And so Taichi must never know that she was pregnant. And if he ever did find out? It would devastate him. It would be the must hurtful thing Inaba could do to him. It would rupture their marriage relationship, permanently.

She knew that Taichi would never divorce Inaba, no matter what. But he would become the walking wounded, continuing with the marriage only because of his near-infinite capacity for self-sacrifice. He would remain with her out of his sense of duty and obligation to his wife.

Iori thought some more. It was obvious: Inaba would initiate the divorce herself. To free him. To free him from the selfish and needy misfit girl who captured him all those years ago.

And then? And then Inaba would maneuver - behind the scenes - to try to push Taichi and herself together. She would do it out of her sense of guilt, to make sure that Taichi was happy again with someone who loved him.

_Let's be realistic here. Would Taichi ever actually do that? Would he ever commit to me on the rebound? No, I don't think so. Not even after being stabbed in the back, betrayed and divorced. He would always keep a candle for her in case she ever came back, no matter how unlikely. He would stay faithful to her even then, for the rest of her life._

Wait a minute...

_The rest of her life._

No, she wouldn't do that, would she?

Inaba was so insecure, so convicted of her own wretched selfishness, so wracked with guilt for hurting everyone around her.

For hurting him. For hurting her.

How could Inaba atone for her perceived sins against both of them? To pay her debt?

A horrible thought hit Iori.

She wouldn't, would she?

She might.

She would.

Iori's mind worked it out in a flash. It wouldn't appear to be suicide. Inaba would stage her own accident. And she would stage the whole thing to make it look perfectly believable.

Inaba might even leave behind a fake a diary on paper or on her computer, where she would write that if anything should happen to her that she wished that Taichi would go to Iori and accept her.

It was obvious. A divorce would never happen. Of course not. It would hurt Taichi.

Instead Inaba would arrange to have an unfortunate accident, and she would be gone and out of the picture.

She saw all of Inaba's plan in her mind. At first, Taichi would be inconsolable. She would hug him. His tears would fall in streams on her shoulders. And she would cry with him. And then eventually, after perhaps many years, after his scars had begun to finally heal, she would have him.

And the most ironic thing about it all? She wouldn't need to do anything. She wouldn't need to wear a mask. No trickery. No seduction. She could just be herself.

Would Inaba actually do that? Yes, she might. Deep inside, Iori knew that she and Inaba were the same. So she would definitely consider doing it. And Iori knew that Inaba loved reading murder mystery novels. She could set the whole thing up to be untraceable. It would even be a game for her.

Yes, she could do it. But why? Is her motive that strong?

No, it was not.

Iori felt that Inaba's fears were overblown. Sure, it would be a bumpy ride initially with a newborn, but Taichi would be right there beside her, as would the rest of the Pentagon. Inaba's rotten socialite step-mom would be out of the picture, but her family of friends should be able to compensate for anything lacking in her biological one. And she had Taichi too.

Then Iori noticed that Inaba was busy trying to get her attention. She quickly snapped out of her reverie and returned back to reality.

Inaba was asking, "Hey, Iori, you listening? Don't you agree with me?"

Iori blinked her eyes. "Oh, sorry. What was that again?"

"I said I'm a bad person. A bitch. That's me."

Iori chuckled, "Join the club."

Inaba tilted her head questioningly. "You? Oh come now."

This was a time for truth. Iori looked Inaba squarely in the eyes.

"Look, Dereban, I'm the bitch, not you. You might think you are, but you're not. Sure, you have some problems with being selfish. Welcome to the human race. So you're flawed? Yeah, so what? Everybody is like that. So have you issues. I still think that you are a nice person at heart. You just have this crusty exterior. But once you get through that, you're the cutest thing."

"Oh come on now."

"I mean it. You are. You might not think so, but you are."

"Stop it."

Iori smiled. "When your reverted to age 5, you were so adorable that I nearly died from diabetes. Yui too. We squeed for hours.*7 That cute little girl is still there somewhere inside you."

Then Iori's smile faded. She lowered her head. "Look, if anyone is the bitch, it's me. Back in high school I was the popular one. I had tons of friends. But it was a mile wide and an inch deep. I never made any friends since I dropped the mask."

Inaba said softly, "Well, you have one friend right here, right now."

More silence. More whorls in the water.

Iori took the opportunity to return to her original train of thought. Inaba might be planning to do something awful to herself. Iori knew she had to stop her. But how?

First, she needed to stop Inaba's dread about having the baby. It was so typical of her Dereban, who was always panicking and running away whenever she felt overwhelmed about anything. But there was no need to run away this time, was there?

Sure, initially things would be rocky, but she knew that Inaba would eventually become a fine mother with a lovely newborn baby, and with a wonderful loving father by her side. And the child would have (at minimum) two adoring aunts and an uncle. Surely she must know that by now.

The initial panic is over. She is no longer freaking out. She is calm.

And that means that she had already made her decision.

But why? Why is she considering something so awful? It didn't make sense.

Wait, what if it was some other reason?

"Inaban, if you don't mind my asking about your pact with Number Three, I just want to confirm, it is against Heartseed, right?"

Inaba didn't hesitate. "Uh huh. Rina said Heartseed will be destroyed."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Iori continued to think. Why is Inaba so resolute about not keeping the baby? She's not panicking anymore. So what is the reason for all this grim determination?

It would only be if she was forced.

Wait..

Oh no..

Iori was stunned. "And Rina's price is.."

"Yeah."

"Oh Dereban.."

"I can't believe I fell for such a simple trick. Rina promised that only I would pay the price. Nobody else. Nobody but me. I made sure of it, only me. She promised you would all be safe, and Heartseed would be gone forever."

Inaba wiped away a tear. "I didn't know what she really wanted. I did it for him.. I did it for you.."

"Inaban, stop right now and think. This is stupid. Doing what Rina wants and aborting your baby is not going to work. Not in the long run. You know that such an explosive secret like that will get out soon or later. It's inevitable. He'll know eventually."

She yelled, "Don't you think I know that?! Number Three will spill the beans to Taichi! She will!"

"Hoo boy."

Iori knew. If instead, Inaba died in an 'accident', then there was no way to prove it one way or the other. Taichi would refuse to believe Number Three and accuse her of lying. But if Inaba simply had the abortion? He would look Inaba in the eyes and demand to know the truth. And she couldn't hide it from him.

One look at Inaba's face and he would know.

He would know.

Iori stood up.

"Dereban, you're not a bad person. In fact, in your own way, you are the most loving person I know. In some ways even more than Taichi. So don't do this. Don't do this to yourself. Don't do this to him."

Inaba was bitter. "I'm a horrible person."

"No you aren't."

"Yes I am. Boy, for someone like you who allegedly is such a great judge of character.."

"Stop it. I know you are a nice and caring person inside. You just get cranky sometimes."

"I'm not. I'm a monster compared to you. Compared to anyone."

"Dereban, just stop it!"

"You are so much better than me. That's why I am going to do this."

Then Iori suddenly found herself getting angry. A rage up-welled within her.

"Shut the [bleep] up. You are so insecure and paranoid it's pathetic. You don't trust anybody. You never have. You never let anyone help you, not even me. Well you know what? You are not as bad person as you think you are. You know who's the bad person? Me. You want to know how bad a person I am? Well, I'll give you an example right now: I want to ask Heartseed to change the past. For me."

Inaba sniffled, "To erase yourself.. I know. I tried that too."

"Inaban!"

"Iori, don't you see, that's not selfish."

Iori was furious. "No, you dummy! I wanted to ask Heartseed if he would let me go back to the start of the StuCS and change the past!"

"What?"

"Not to erase myself, to erase a mistake."

Inaba stood in alarm. "Iori..?"

Then Iori screamed at her, her voice echoing across the lake.

"SO THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE REJECTED HIM! SO I WOULD HAVE HIM INSTEAD OF YOU!"

Iori dropped to her knees on the wooden boards of the dock as her echoes faded away in the hills. "I'm the real monster, not you. You're just an amateur, see? I'm the pro."

She raised her tragic face up to Inaba, then she smiled. "So there it is. Now you know. I'm sorry. I really wanted us to remain friends.."

Iori waited for Inaba to slap her.

She didn't.

Instead she hugged her.

"Dereban.. what..?"

"Don't you see? That's my wish for you too. I know you would never actually ask Heartseed that, no matter how strongly you were tempted. It's okay, I understand. And so I'll ask him myself, on your behalf."

Iori stared.

Then Iori stood up.

And she slapped Inaba. Hard.

"Idiot!"

"Iori.. what?"

Iori's face was red, raging, and inchoate.

"Dereban, don't you dare think that! Not for a second! I'm the worst possible girl for him! I'm as manipulative as they come, as fake as wooden nickel. He'd be my dancing marionette for the rest of his life. He'd never know that his life with me was all a lie. How could you ever want that for him?

"Don't you see? You are the woman who truly loves him, with a real and plain and genuine and honest love. You are the one who can best take care of him. He needs you so badly, and you need him. It has to be you. Nobody else."

Inaba spoke quietly but earnestly. "Iori, no, if anyone, it has to be you. Don't you get it? You understand people so well, and you always know exactly how to make someone happy. For Taichi you'll drop your mask with him. You'll do that because deep inside you know that he loves the real Iori, you, because that will make him the most happy. Sure, underneath your protective mask he will find a sad lonely girl who is jaded and bitter, but he'll love you all the much more because of it. He'll heal you. He will free you from your demons, your chains. From those wrist scars. And then, finally, he will be free to be with the woman who truly loves him more than I ever could, with a real, non-selfish, love - someone who can best take care of him and love him back in the way he deserves.

"Iori, you've been slowly dying since high school. I can't go on living knowing what is happening to you because of me. And, so, is that selfish of me? Well, maybe it is. And I don't care!"

Iori's face was hard. "Inaban, so help me god, if ever you have an unfortunate 'accident', I _will_ tell him. I swear to god I will. He won't believe Number Three, but he will believe me."

Inaba's face remained soft and kind. "No, you won't. You'll never tell him. I'm certain of that. You won't."

"I will."

"No you won't. You're just being emotional right now. Stop and think. Think about it carefully. Think it through."

Iori's analytical mind went to work. She considered the possibilities:

1) She tells Taichi, and Inaba keeps their baby. Rina destroys everyone.

2) She tells Taichi, but Inaba terminates the pregnancy anyway. They remain married, but their marriage is forever ruptured.

3) Before Inaba has her accident, Iori warns Taichi, and he manages to convince Inaba to keep her baby. Again Rina destroys everyone.

4) Inaba has an accident and is gone. Iori becomes wracked with guilt for not warning Taichi, and so they never get together. Meanwhile, Taichi is alone and lost. Without anyone to support him, he soon gets himself killed during a rescue attempt.

5) Inaba has an accident. Iori tells Taichi what really happened. Taichi ends up sharing Iori's terrible guilt as he partly blames himself. He dives deeper into his rescue-work even more, and dies even sooner.

Iori grudgingly admired Rina's genius. There was no way to escape. Her plan was perfect.

No, whatever she did, Iori could never tell Taichi, regardless of what happened.

Because it would only make things worse.

And Inaba had already figured all this out. She said quietly, "You won't tell him."

Iori sighed, "You're right. I see it now. No, I won't."

"See? Now I've trapped you too."

Iori sighed. "Okay, okay.. fine. Let's just stop here. I tell you what, let's you and I take a breather. We need to suspend this angsty-wangsty pity-party contest. We both agree that Taichi is the one we both want to save, right? So you and I need to work together. To figure out a way out of this mess. Together."

"Okay.. But Iori, I have to go away. Don't you see? There's no other way."

"Look, Dereban, just stop a moment. Have you talked to Heartseed about this?"

"Of course. He's useless. He won't do a thing."

"Did you ask him about changing the past? Say, by preventing you from making the pact with Rina in the first place?"

"He won't change anything or fix anything."

"Why not?"

"Because he says this timeline is the most 'interesting' one. The bastard."

"Okay.. okay.. Hmm. Look, Dereban, you've been thinking about this for a long time. And you're stuck. All right, so maybe you don't see a way out of this mess. But now you are no longer alone. You now have a friend who is also working on the problem with you. Let me think about this for a few days. What week are you on?"

"This is the eighth week."

"Okay, good. That means there is no rush, right? We still have four weeks before the end of the first trimester. So let me work this over in my mind and cogitate a bit. Maybe I'll spot something you missed. That sound good?"

"Okay."

"A truce then? An alliance? At least for now?"

"Yeah. A truce."

"Smart girl. Oh, and if you run into Heartseed again, please mention to him that I still want to talk with him."

"About what?"

"Dunno yet. Like I said, I need think about this first."

"Got it."

Then Inaba sniffled. "Iori, thank you.. I'm so sorry.. I'm so sorry for what happened.. your life.. everything.. I can't ever repay you for what I've done to you.."

Iori smiled. "Stop it. All pity-parties are hereby banned until further notice."

Then she said, "But you know, Dereban, there is one small thing you can do for me right now if you want."

Inaba looked hopeful. "Anything."

"Can we please remain friends? No matter what? Forever?"

Inaba gave her a sad smile. "Oh, Iori.." She extended her arms.

And so, on that little wooden dock in the lake in the woods, while standing on those creaky boards, their bare feet slowly drying as the sun's rippling glow sparkled on the water, they hugged each other as tightly as they could.

And they remained in that embrace for a long, long time.

* * *

After lunch things were quiet in the mansion. Yui did her afternoon workout with Anzu. Afterwards she changed her clothes and sat by herself at Inaba's PC in the sitting room as she browsed the Internet.

She was shocked to find a small news article from three years ago regarding her old high school friend, Yukina Kurihara. Apparently Kurihara had contracted a rare form of lymphoma and her family was trying to raise funds for an experimental medical treatment that was rather expensive. She then checked the obituaries and found Kurihara's name listed a year later.

Around 4:30 p.m. Inaba and Iori returned from their field trip. It was now time to start preparing for dinner. Iori sat in the foyer and took off her shoes to rub her sore feet. Inaba told Iori to skip preparing the meal and just order some take out. It was a suggestion that Iori assented to wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, Inaba walked over to Yui, who was still scanning the obituaries on the PC.

Inaba asked, "So, are you still catching up?"

Yui pushed her chair away from the PC and rubbed her tired eyes. "Yes. There is still so much for me to learn."

Inaba grinned, "Well, the world marches on."

"Inaba, do you need your PC back now?"

"Naw. I have some scripts running that I want to check on, but it can wait. You go ahead and keep surfing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Yui went back to the browser and visited the website for NHK Broadcasting. She saw a large red banner on the bottom of the video window with some crawling text.

Meanwhile, Iori was now sitting on the couch. She turned on the TV as Inaba sat and joined her. While Iori was changing channels, Inaba took the opportunity to pull out her smartphone to again check on the aftermath of her little visit to Steve Anderson.

Iori switched the channel to her favorite soap opera, which was still in progress.

She yelled, "Dang it, those jerks!"

Inaba looked up. "Huh?"

"They interrupted my soap with some stupid news alert."

Then they heard Yui yelling behind her. "You guys! Check the TV!"

Iori started flipping channels.

".. scenes of incredible devastation .. magnitude 9.1, about two hours ago .. the largest since the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 .. casualties are unknown at this point .. all communication cut off .. major roads apparently damaged or destroyed .. a city of 3.5 million .. harbor facilities destroyed .. no access or communication .."

Inaba yelled, "Argh! Will you stop flipping channels!" She grabbed the remote away from Iori and switched the channel to NHK.

The news anchor was speaking. "The city of Busan, South Korea, appears to be completely cut off by road and sea, with all major roads and port facilities having been damaged or destroyed. Because of the hilly terrain surrounding the city, the only access is by air."

The blood drained from Inaba's face. "Oh no.."

The report went on. "The Defense Ministry has made a joint announcement with the US Secretary of Defense that the scheduled Pacific Partnership simulated disaster rescue and recovery operation that was to have taken place this week on Honshou's north coast has been cancelled. It has been reported by sources inside the Interior Ministry that Japan and the United States are coordinating a major relief operation and will be providing full support to South Korea for the airborne relief effort. A US Naval Task Force headed by the nuclear aircraft carrier USS _Ronald Reagan_ , currently sailing in the South China Sea, is now making an emergency run to head for Busan on the southeast coast of South Korea. The USNS _Mercy_ , which is currently docked in Yamaboshi for the Pacific Partnership exercise, is reportedly making preparations for departure as well. India, Indonesia, and several other countries have also pledged their full support."

Yui came around the couch and sat with them. "It's on all the news channels. It's terrible."

".. aftershocks are still being reported. Ladies and gentleman, I am being told by my director that we finally have an aerial video feed from the disaster, which we will try to bring to you live. This will be the first footage from Busan. There. Oh my god.."

Inaba looked at Iori.

"He's not coming back, is he."

Iori pulled Inaba's head into her lap.

She cradled it as she continued to watch the horrifying images on the screen.

"No, he's not."

* * *

**A/N:**

* See the LN _Precious Time_.

** Python can do _anything_.

*** Translation: "Welcome, please come in."

*4 See Episode 3.

*5 It's the same maniacal grin she showed Taichi in Episode 4.

*6 See the LN _Yume Random_ and the LN _Precious Time_.

*7 See Episode 11.


	22. The Heart Connection

**Chapter 22: The Heart Connection**

The JRCS hospital was in a state of organized chaos. A war footing. Longstanding plans were invoked, departments reorganized, roles redefined.

Kurosawa's years of pre-planning were paying off. And not only within the JRCS, but outside of it as well. Japan's governmental bureaucracies were swinging into action far more quickly than they normally would. Well-laid plans and doctrines for precisely this kind of emergency were now being rushed into action. Pre-approved orders and pre-written instructions were being flash-alerted from Japan's various government ministries to people who already knew what they were supposed to do.

The USNS _Mercy_ prepared for departure. When fully activated, the ship was designed to quickly morph itself like a character in Transformers and become a floating hospital with a crew and medical staff of over 1,200. It could then rapidly treat thousands of injured and wounded patients that would arrive by sea or by air. In this case, with Busan's port destroyed, they would be airlifted on CH-53 'Stallion' helicopters that would land on huge helipads that could accommodate the world's largest military helicopters.

As part of the Pacific Partnership Program (motto: "Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis"), Japan had previously sent a large number of personnel aboard the Mercy in preparation for the the joint disaster rescue and relief exercise. This included personnel who were trained for ground, sea, and air rescue, medical doctors, nurses, and other specialists from the civilian sector as well as from Japan's armed services - both active-duty and reserve.

The Mercy had originally docked in Yamaboshi with a crew of only 220 Americans, of which approximately 70 of those were the basic operational crew required for the ship's navigation and maintenance of its 12 operating rooms and 30 wards. Except for the bridge crew and a small security force to prevent Somali-style pirates from boarding, the rest of the 70 crew were civilian members of the US Merchant Marine, operating under contract. In addition, about 150 US Navy doctors and nurses from the San Diego US Navy Medical Center were on hand to provide training and participate in the Pacific Partnership exercise. Japan provided the bulk of the ship's complement, over 1,000 personnel, for the exercise from the JSDF and from various other non-military governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Kurosawa was the head of the NGO contingent. Because of his well-known reputation as an emergency manager in past disasters, many of the heads of the other agencies tended to give him wide deference, and because the honorary president of the Japanese Red Cross Society was the Empress of Japan and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were its vice-presidents, the JRCS was actually more of a governmental agency than a truly independent one anyway.

The Mercy would be ready to set sail to Busan with a full complement of 1,200 personnel only a mere eight hours after the earthquake, a new record.

The departure was scheduled for 8 p.m., four hours away. Inside the Yamaboshi JRCS Regional Headquarters complex, people were running everywhere seemingly willy nilly. It looked like chaos, but it was actually a carefully planned metamorphosis. Alerts and reminders were popping up on the hallway flat panels everywhere. Staff were rushing to their designated rally points, checking the panels and their cellphones for any updates or changes to their pre-issued orders.

Taichi and Aoki were huffing and puffing down the hall. They spotted Kurosawa ahead of them in his wheelchair. He was talking with some men in JSDF military uniforms. They ran and caught up with him.

Taichi huffed, "Kurosawa-sensei!"

Kurosawa turned to face him. "Yaegashi, you need to get downstairs for the final briefing."

"Yes sir. I was wondering if Aoki here could come with us."

"Reason?"

"Sir, look how big and strong he is. A pair of powerful hands like his are going to come in really handy in pulling out survivors. I could really use his help on site."

Kurosawa looked briefly at Aoki, then faced Taichi again. He explained it succinctly. "Yaegashi, while it is true that we would normally be grateful to accept every extra pair of hands we can get, Aoki is not formally trained yet. All staff are required to receive basic training in emergency disaster relief before being deployed in the field. It's JRCS policy."

Aoki begged, "Please sir. You need strong men like me out there. Just to remove debris and stuff if nothing more. I don't need training for that."

Taichi chimed in. "Sir, I beg you. He's steadfast in a crisis and takes direction well. I'll take full responsibility for him."

Kurosawa looked at both of them. Then he started typing on his ultralight notebook. "Very well. Aoki, I'm putting you down as a volunteer. You'll need to sign a waiver."

"Thank you sir!"

"Aoki, as a volunteer you are going to be Yaegashi's batsman. Please stay near Yaegashi at all times. Do whatever he says and follow his instructions to the letter. Do you think you can do that?"

He jumped and saluted. "Yes sir! Absolutely sir!" The two military officers standing nearby tried to suppress their smirks.

"Good man."

Taichi's cell buzzed. He checked and saw he was needed downstairs. The pair turned to go. Then Kurosawa said, "Yaegashi, I'd like to brief Aoki a bit more if you don't mind. You go on ahead. I'll make sure he catches up."

"Thank you so much, sir." Then he made a fast bow and ran off.

Kurosawa then turned his chair and faced Aoki. "Normally I would never have done that, but I am worried about Yaegashi getting in over his head out there, so I am making an exception here. I know that he is your best friend."

"Yes sir, he is."

Kurosawa said quietly, "Then pay attention. This is unofficial. I'd like you to keep an eye on Yaegashi. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid or reckless out there. If he does, stop him. Tie him up, carry him away, I don't care. Just don't let him make his wife a widow. You understand?"

Aoki's puppy-dog eagerness changed to a look of deadly seriousness.

"Yes sir. I will."

* * *

It was evening. The USNS _Mercy_ was now underway at its maximum speed of 17.5 knots (32 km/hr). The great white ship would travel in a straight line from Yamaboshi to Busan, about 350 kilometers away. Given favorable ocean currents it was expected that the Mercy would arrive and drop anchor just off Busan around 10 a.m. Because of the proximity of Yamaboshi to Busan, the Mercy would arrive at the scene of the disaster at least a full day ahead of the task force headed by the USS _Ronald Reagan_.

As soon as the Reagan came into flight range, the Reagan's Sikorsky Chinook CH-53E ('Super Stallion') and and CH-53 ('Sea Stallion') helicopters would launch and begin rescue operations, flying between Busan and the Mercy around the clock. In Busan the Mercy's rescue workers would extract buried victims from the rubble and do first-aid before making triage selection for the airlift of the most seriously wounded survivors back to the hospital ship for emergency surgery and intensive medical care.

It was dark. Taichi, Aoki, Bakou, and Keiso were standing on the large flat helipad deck that was mounted right behind the bridge. They were gazing out along the back rail in awe of the vessel that extended below and behind them for over a thousand feet, with great waves churning from its four massive screws.

Meanwhile, Aoki was admiring one of the CH-53E Super Stallions that was parked on the pad.

He said, "Wow, that's a big helicopter."

Aoki was not exaggerating. The CH-53E was the largest and heaviest helicopter in the United States military. The 'E' version added a third engine and a seventh blade to the main rotor for extra speed and lift.*

The four men were wearing windbreaker jackets in the chilly breeze. The stars were still shining above, but they knew that would change soon because the weather report indicated that a squall line was approaching later that evening.

Keiso had already taken three Dramamine pills. Taichi looked at him. "You gonna make it?"

Keiso muttered, "Yeah.."

The men heard a low humming noise. They all turned. Kurosawa was approaching in his electric wheelchair. His eyes were beaming. "Good evening, lads! Beautiful night tonight, isn't it?"

Taichi spoke for the group. "Yes, sir, it is."

Kurosawa sported a large pair of astronomy-grade binoculars around his neck. "I couldn't sleep either, so I was trying to do some sky observations to take advantage of the ideal viewing conditions out here. There's no moon tonight, with dark skies and no clouds, it's perfect.. well, until the squall hits in a few hours, that is. Anyway, I was checking the Andromeda galaxy with my 7x50s on the other side of the pad just now. I figured it would look amazing at sea with no city lights or smog."

Kurosawa began to screw on the caps onto the lenses of his binoculars. As he did so he said idly, "You know, few people realize just how big the Andromeda galaxy actually is in the sky: about the size of the full moon. But it is really hard to see any detail of the spiral arms without dark skies, even with binoculars. So I figured the binocular view tonight should be outstanding." He sighed as he looked around the deck. "Feh, these stupid floodlights are all over the ship, ruins everything."

Taichi looked sympathetic. "Pity, sir."

If the bald man was disappointed, his face didn't show it. Instead he said brightly, "So, what brings you boys out here on this chilly night? Doing some star watching too?"

Taichi said, "No sir. We were just admiring the ship, that's all." There were no portals or windows below deck.

Kurosawa moved his chair up to the rail and looked out at the white irregular blocks of the endless superstructure that sprawled away into the distance. It reminded him of a scene in _Star Wars_ (1977) when the X-Wing fighters were flying low over the surface of the Death Star before they dived into the trench.

"Yes, it's an impressive sight. By volume it is the largest ship that has ever sailed in the US Navy. In any country's navy. And all for purely humanitarian purposes. Quite remarkable."

Then Kurosawa noticed that Aoki was staring up at the sky. Kurosawa glanced up. "See something interesting up there, lad?"

Aoki turned, "Oh, sorry sir. I was just trying to find Andromeda. If it's as big as the full moon I figured I'd see it."

Kurosawa chuckled, "Sorry, my boy, you won't. To see it with the naked eye takes someone with perfect 20-20 vision in pitch dark skies to even spot it, and then it's just a faint blur of the central core, about the size of a pencil eraser held at arm's distance."

"Oh, I see. So where is it, exactly?"

He pointed. "Start with the constellation Pegasus, that big rectangular box right there. It's called the Great Square. See it?"

"Yeah."

"Next, find the big 'W' of the constellation Cassiopeia, which is right next door to the square. Look at the star named Sirrah, which is the star in the square that is nearest the 'W'. Then draw an imaginary line from Sirrah to the star at the bottom of the left 'V' of the 'W', a star named Ruchbah. Find the middle of the line between Sirrah and Ruchbah and go down perpendicularly away from it, south, about one moon length. And there it is.

Aoki squinted. "I don't see anything."

"Well, like I said, you won't."

Kurosawa then looked at Aoki thoughtfully. "My, you are a big guy. Are you trained in self defense? Martial arts?"

"Uh, no sir."

He addressed both Aoki and Taichi. "Well, then if someone tries to rob you, or if you two see someone else being robbed, or see some looting going on, don't resist and don't try to interfere. Bakou here will be on your team for security."

Bakou crossed his arms. He looked like he could beat Popeye in an arm-wrestling match. Kurosawa said, "Do not be a hero." He looked at them sternly. "Is that understood?"

Aoki and Taichi said in unison, "Yes, sir!"

The group continued to look out at the ship. Kurosawa noticed Keiso leaning heavily on the rail above the decks below. "You take your seasick pills?"

"Yes sir.."

"Well, just remember to puke on the leeward side. You don't want it flying back in your face." The others chuckled.

"Oh, uh, thank you sir."

The breeze began to pick up. Aoki flapped is arms. "Man, it's getting cold."

Kurosawa nodded. "Yes it is, and you boys need to get your sleep for tomorrow. All of you, go downstairs into your berths and try to get some rest. Anchor drops in 10 hours. We have a long day tomorrow."

The group assented and they left the deck for the stairs below. Meanwhile Kurosawa motored towards the freight elevator. The doors closed behind him.

_Lord, please protect them all._

* * *

It was 4:45 a.m. Taichi was still unable to sleep. He kept trying, but the unfamiliarity of his bunk bed combined with Aoki's incessant snoring had kept him awake. He kicked himself for not remembering to bring his earplugs.

The tossing and turning of the ship as the squall line passed did not help. Because of the large size of the ship, it rolled up and down rather slowly. It wasn't particularly jarring; it felt more like an elevator going slowly up and down.

Up and down. Up and down.

Taichi heard a moan next door. He put on his shirt and slacks and went into the gangway. He knocked on Keiso's door. Bakou was bunking with him.

"You okay in there?"

Then the door opened. It was Bakou, who was holding Keiso up. He looked green.

Bakou said, "He filled both barf bags. Please help me get him topside." Taichi immediately pulled up Keiso's left arm as Bakou supported his right.

Then Aoki sleepily opened the door. "Whatssup?"

Taichi tried to turn to face his friend, but with holding Keiso he was in an awkward body position. He slipped and fell on the steel floor.

His head barely missed a sharp steel projection that was sticking out from the fire suppression system that was mounted on the wall. Instead his head struck the floor.

Aoki was alarmed, "Taichi, be careful!"

He rubbed his head, "Ouch."

Aoki jumped down and helped Taichi stand up. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah."

Aoki admonished him. "Dude, you need to watch yourself. You aren't familiar with this ship. Look, let me and Bakou help Keiso get outside. You stay here."

"No, I'm coming with you. I want to make sure he's going to be all right."

"Bakou and I can do it. Just you stay here."

Taichi was adamant. "No, I'm coming to help."

Aoki was having difficulty holding Keiso. He knew he wasn't going to win the argument anyway. "Fine, whatever. Let's go."

They were all topside. The rain had stopped but the deck was still rather slick. Keiso started puking again over the starboard rail.

Aoki muttered, "I can't believe the guy has so much puke in him.."

After Keiso finishing heaving again, he became short of breath. He inhaled deeply. As a result he started choking and coughing, having aspirated some vomit down his windpipe. Taichi began patting his pack trying to help him cough up whatever went down the wrong pipe. "It's okay."

Keiso pulled his head back and then leaned forward and did another tremendous heave.

And he flipped over the side.

"Keiso!"

Taichi tried to grab his hand as he went over, but it was too late.

_I hate the sea. I can't even swim._

And so Taichi took off his shoes and jumped in after him.

The others were stunned. They had no time to react.

As soon as he jumped over the side, Taichi regretted doing it.

For you see, he was experiencing a curious phenomenon that was universally known among jumpers who were just as suicidal as Taichi unintentionally was. A famous article in the October 2003 issue of _The New Yorker_ magazine (Title: 'Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge') explained it rather succinctly. The jumpers who had survived jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco, a bridge with a 98% fatality rate, revealed an interesting commonality:

As soon as they jumped they regretted doing it.

Call it a moment of clarity. Call it a moment of truth. Whatever problems existed in your life, they could be fixed. Except that one.

Kevin Hines was 18 when he jumped in September, 2000. _After he crossed the chord, he recalled, "My first thought was, 'What the hell did I just do? I don't want to die.'"_

Ken Baldwin did it in August 1985. _As he crossed the chord in flight, Baldwin recalls, "I instantly realized that everything in my life that I'd thought was unfixable was totally fixable - except for having just jumped."_

And Paul Alarab in March 1990. _"I was praying for God to give me another chance."_

And those that died? Many jumpers wrap suicide notes in plastic and tuck them into their pockets. One read, "Absolutely no reason except I have a toothache."

The article explained the reality of jumping.

_Jumpers tend to idealize what will happen after they step off the bridge. "Suicidal people have transformation fantasies and are prone to magical thinking, like children and psychotics," Dr. Lanny Berman, the executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, says. "Jumpers are drawn to the Golden Gate because they believe it's a gateway to another place. They think that life will slow down in those final seconds, and then they'll hit the water cleanly, like a high diver."_

_In the four-second fall from the bridge, survivors say, time does seem to slow. On her way down in 1979, Ann McGuire said to herself, "I must be about to hit," three times. But the impact is not clean: the coroner's usual verdict, suicide caused by "multiple blunt-force injuries," euphemizes the devastation... Jumpers who hit the water do so at about seventy-five miles an hour and with a force of fifteen thousand pounds per square inch. Eighty-five per cent of them suffer broken ribs, which rip inward and tear through the spleen, the lungs, and the heart. Vertebrae snap, and the liver often ruptures. "It's as if someone took an eggbeater to the organs of the body and ground everything up," Ron Wilton, a Coast Guard officer, once observed._

Time seemed to slow down for Taichi.

He was still falling.

_Inaba.. I'm sorry._

At 41 meters (134 feet), the helipad deck of the Mercy was somewhat lower than the Golden Gate Bridge (67 meters, 220 feet). But it was still at a height at which even Acapulco cliff divers would not attempt. It was too dangerous.

_I'm so sorry._

He tried to orient himself so that he would hit feet first. He was wearing his windbreaker, which was partially unzipped. It puffed up like a parasail.

_I'm sorry._

The windbreaker slowed his final speed at impact from 28 meters per second (63 miles per hour) down to roughly half that speed.

Impact.

The slowed speed at impact saved his life. It also saved him from serious injury and subsequent drowning.

He went down 9 meters (30 feet) into the ocean. In the coldness of the water he nearly gasped and inhaled it.

Time became confused, a jumble.

He started swimming madly in the dark. His jacket came off. He was spatially disoriented, not knowing which way was up.

Somehow his head was above the surface again.

He looked around and yelled, "Keiso!"

But there was nothing to be seen except the white wall of the ship as it continued to pass.

"Keiso!"

Then a thought entered Taichi's head. _Get away from the propellers._

With the ship moving at 32 km/hr, he had 22 seconds left to clear them. Taichi started swimming madly away from the ship.

He could hear the churning of the huge screws as they got closer, a thrumming.

He swam as fast as he could.

Louder and louder.

Then he was pulled under the water again. This time he was ready and took a deep breath first.

He was strangely calm. He hovered under the water until he figured out which way was up, then swam to the surface.

The great white ship receded into the distance.

_I'm so sorry._

* * *

Aoki and Bakou were stunned.

Bakou recovered faster. He leaned over the rail and spotted Taichi's parasail-like descent and his clean impact into the water feet first. The ship's lights illuminated the water, and Bakou tried to track where Taichi went in. The splash-area quickly receded into the distance, but just before losing track he thought he could just barely make out a head bobbing up in the water.

Meanwhile, Keiso was no where to be found.

Aoki was panicking. He lunged at the rail. "Throw them a life preserver! Something! Man overboard! Man overboard!"

Bakou stopped Aoki as he leaned over the rail and pulled him back. "It's too late."

Aoki gripped Bakou's jacket. "You saw them? Did they make it?"

"I saw Yaegashi, he surfaced. No sign of Keiso."

Aoki was gesticulating wildly. "Them tell to stop! Stop the ship! Turn it around! We have to save them!'"

Bakou's dead face actually showed an expression for once.

Resignation.

"Aoki, I am sorry. This ship is built on an old oil supertanker hull. It takes almost an hour just to slow, turn, and get up to speed again."

"Then send a helicopter! Send that one!" Aoki pointed at the CH-35E that was parked nearby.

Bakou shook his head. "Again, I am sorry. It is pitch dark out there. No moon. Yaegashi has no light or radio. The sun will not rise for another hour. And at this water's temperature, hypothermia will likely have set in by then, assuming he even has the strength to remain treading water for that long."

"Then.. Then.."

"I am sorry, they are gone."

Aoki was numb. "I was supposed to protect him.."

"As was I." Inaba's father had sent his best field operative to follow Taichi onto the ship. Not to spy upon or harm Taichi, but rather to protect him.

"We both failed our mission."

* * *

Taichi felt ethereal.

_Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?_

He was laying on his back on a solid surface that was gently swaying underneath him. The stars were above him. They were brilliant, shining, magical.

The squall line had passed, and the clouds had parted. It was pitch dark. And in those perfect nighttime viewing conditions, Taichi saw thousands upon thousands of stars blazing above his head. The grand expanse of the Milk Way galaxy arched across the sky.

He continued to stare at it all in wonder and in awe. For indeed, that was the purpose his of being able to see that shining vista in the first place: To declare the glory of the One who created it**.

"So amazing.."

Taichi looked and found the Great Square of Pegasus. It had rotated since early that evening, but the constellation was still well above the horizon. With his mind's eye he drew an imaginary line from Sirrah to Ruchbah, and then about midway along that line he looked down about one moon length.

And there it was.

He saw a small fuzzy patch of dim light. He could just make it out with his dark-adapted and averted vision.

He knew what it was. Another ocean of 100 billion stars. Another universe nested within our larger observable Universe. And was there a universe beyond our own? Was there a universe of universes? And what about beyond that? Did it just go up, higher and higher and higher?

The platform he was on bobbled a bit. He sat up and felt it.

He found that he was laying astride an old heavy plastic molding for a floor-standing refrigerator. The piece of heavy styrofoam was about six and a half feet long and three feet wide. He then remembered climbing upon it when it floated past.

For this was the scourge of the Pacific Ocean: floating garbage. Decades of discarded non-biodegradable refuse had accumulated on the surface of the ocean from passing ships, or from offshore dumping, or pulled into the ocean by tsunamis like the great Tohoku wave that had drawn several square miles of floating debris out to sea: lumber, plastic, conduit, barrels and bottles, and other assorted wreckage from the disaster. It had formed into mats that were sometimes miles wide. Eventually some of it would drift as far as San Fransisco Bay and wash up on shore.

Taichi sat up on his styrofoam raft and looked around. There was nothing on the horizon in any direction.

"I can't believe this."

He was all alone in the middle of the ocean, with no water, no food, and aboard a sea craft that was very, very fragile.

"Dammit, I am such an idiot."

His outburst was not at all surprising. For you see, Taichi was merely going through the normal emotional states that all people typically experience when facing imminent death.

The model was first proposed by the Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her famous 1969 book, _On Death and Dying_. It was based on her extensive field work with terminally ill patients. According to the her theory, there are five distinct emotional stages that people go through when facing death.

Taichi had already passed stage one, denial.

"Everyone was looking out for me. Everyone warned me. And I still screwed up. Everyone! Dammit dammit dammit!"

Taichi was now on stage two, anger.

"[Bleep]! What was I thinking?"

Then he entered stage three.

"Inaba, I promise that if I survive this I will make it up to you somehow. I'll listen to everything you say."

He sighed.

Suddenly he yelled into the air. "Dammit! I'm such a stupid [bleep]head!" Sometimes the stages overlap.

During his outburst he jostled his raft and it started to crack. He didn't realize how fragile it was. He decided to lay back down.

He looked up at the stars again.

_Should I pray? I've never done it before. I don't even know how._

He continued to look up.

_Uh, God? Lord, sir? Are you there? Can you hear me?_

_Sir, I made a mistake. I did something stupid. Kurosawa-sensei says that you hear prayers, and I know he's a smart man. So please, God, I need help. If you can hear me, please help me._

His little craft continued to sway on the waves. He noticed that the crack was lengthening. At some point it would split his little raft in two and he would fall in.

_Lord, if you save me, I'll become a Christian or something. I promise._

He was bargaining, the third stage.

_Look, I'll make a deal with you. Save me and I promise I'll do whatever you say. Okay? Please? Please God?_

No response.

He continued to look up. He saw the small streak of a meteor flash by. It was a tiny dust particle, formed in the primordial soup of the early solar system over 4.6 billion years ago. It burned itself up in a glorious half-second display of self-immolation in the upper stratosphere.

_Please, God?_

Still nothing.

_I need help._

Nothing.

He sighed.

Apparently it wasn't working.

He closed his eyes and gave up.

_What have I done?_

He was now entering the fourth stage, depression.

_I give up. Inaba, I am so sorry. You married the wrong guy. I said I loved you, but all I did was hurt you._

_What will you do now? How will you react? I know how fragile you are. Please don't fall apart. Please don't self-destruct._

Wait.. self-destruct?

He sat up again. Self-destruct.. Yes, that is what Iori did, at least if Inaba's suspicions about her were correct. But surely it wasn't because of him, was it?

No, that's absurd.

How could Iori's bad life choices be his fault? He didn't leave her; she was the one who left him.

It was her choice, she said so. They all heard it. Surely she has moved on. He knew she had no feelings for him anymore.

Surely that can't be possible, not after all these years.

Then he recalled her odd behavior during the retreat that sometimes happened when she was alone with him. He remembered that first time in front of the fireplace when she tensed up, and the time most recently when he accidentally knocked her sideways on the bed during his thankful hug for saving Inaba. She became rigid.

_Oh no.. Iori.._

Inaba had told him that she suspected that Iori's life story was tragic. Was it because of him?

And if so, and if that kind of sad decline had happened to someone as self-sufficient and self-confident as Iori, what would happen to someone like Inaba?

What would happen to Inaba if she became a widow at age 21?

He knew that his wife could be very fragile - more so than he was willing to admit. Oh, under the right circumstances she was incredibly strong-willed and determined, as much as any person could be. It was particularly true whenever she was wheeling and dealing in the rough-and-tumble world of business finance. She loved the tension and excitement. But on a personal level? When dealing with those she truly loved? With those people she could become very fragile and vulnerable. Very vulnerable indeed.

_Inaba, I know how fragile you really are. That's why I never pushed you, why I always let you take the lead. I always waited until you were ready. I always took care of you, shielded you, protected you, as best I could. I always let you believe that you were the Alpha in our relationship, and I always pretended to be the Beta. Because I loved you._

_But now I've hurt you so terribly. God, please. Please save me for her. Not for me. I don't care what happens to me. Just please save me so I can continue to protect her. Otherwise I don't know what will happen, what she might do. Please, dear God, please.. Please!_

He continued to bob on his craft in the darkness.

He knew that without a true miracle, there was no way that he was going to be rescued. The ship's captain would have assumed that he had drowned by now as his strength gave out while treading water, or that he had died of hypothermia in the cold water.

It was just possible that maybe, days from now, after the disaster operation was completed, that perhaps the US or Japanese Navy, or perhaps the Maritime Safety Agency (the equivalent of the US Coast Guard), might do a few air searches and eventually find his body.

After all, Busan was the priority. They would never waste a precious helicopter to search for just one person, not when thousands upon thousands of injured victims desperately needed help in that city. It was simple arithmetic.

There would be no rescue.

_I am going to die._

He was now entering the final stage, acceptance.

He tried to prepare himself. What was death like? Was it simply oblivion? Or was it something else?

Was there something beyond this life?

Kurosawa seemed to think there was. He believed that the whole point of Creation was to allow independent beings, who could see and recognize what their Creator had done, to enter into a deep and loving relationship with that Creator, and that He had provided a living bridge to make that intimate contact possible, as he made the ultimate loving sacrifice of Himself so as to bring us face-to-face with Him, to be united in love, and all ultimately for His glory.

Taichi began to understand.

He was being selfish. He was begging merely for own wants, not His. He was bargaining, trying to cut a deal with God.

And that was wrong.

He laid back down on the raft again and closed his eyes.

_Lord, thy will be done._

* * *

"I would like to speak with Captain Haddock, please."

Kurosawa was sitting in his wheelchair outside the entrance to main navigation bridge. Bakou and Aoki were standing behind him. A young navy officer was blocking their entry. He spoke in halting Japanese, "I am sorry sirs, but you are not allowed in this area without proper authorization."

Another voice behind him spoke in English. "It's all right, Hansen. Let them enter."

It was Captain Haddock***. She was standing in her blue regulation duty uniform alongside a Japanese-American petty officer named Fujimoto.

Because of the importance of inter-language communication for the Pacific Partnership exercise, there were more than a dozen expert Japanese-English translators on the ship. Almost all of them were provided by the host country (in this case Japan), which was customary. The Mercy was planning to visit several countries across the Pacific rim, and it wasn't feasible for the ship to carry a large number of translators for each language in every country during its six month voyage.

But in this case the translator, Fujimoto, was an American of Japanese descent and a US naval petty officer. Kurosawa speculated that US citizenship was probably a necessary prerequisite for anyone who was serving on the bridge or in sensitive communication areas. Although the Mercy was not a commissioned vessel it was still an active part of the US military service, and it had sensitive communications gear on board for receiving authenticated orders from PACCOM. That probably prohibited foreign nationals from being stationed on the bridge.

Kurosawa also knew that because Fujimoto was a native English speaker that he was probably the best translator on the ship for talking with the captain.

As he translated on behalf of Captain Haddock, Fujimoto communicated both her inflection and her emphasis with his voice.

Captain Haddock got straight to the point. "Kurosawa, we are not turning this ship around."

[A/N: For the remainder of this section, you should assume Fujimoto is translating the Japanese and English between Kurosawa and Captain Haddock.]

The Director of JRCS Operations addressed the captain. "Madam, I am not asking for that. The needs in Busan outweigh clearly everything else. I'm just saying that we are still almost six hours out, and that gives us time to do an aerial recon, possibly even a recovery."

"Of bodies."

"My man here confirmed that he saw at least one survivor."

"But did that survivor even make it pass the screws? And even if he did, could he survive without floatation gear? For this long? In this water's temperature it would take a miracle."

"Fine. Recovery then."

"No. I'm sorry."

"But Madam, why not? The helicopters are sitting idle right now. We have plenty of time to go out and return long before landfall. And the sun is rising any minute now, with clear skies and low winds."

"Because no one on my crew is trained for Recovery and Rescue [RAR] missions. This is a medical ship. We only do medical transport. Aerial RAR at sea is a very specialized and technical skill, and only sailors on commissioned warships or in the US Coast Guard are rated for it. Not us. Not even to recover a body. I am sorry, no."

"Madam, with respect, my men are trained for this. Bakou here is ex-JSDF and worked in special ops, including clandestine aerial hostage rescue situations while under fire. My people can handle the recovery part, running the winches, going down in the basket, and bringing them up. All we need is the pilot."

"I said no."

Kurosawa thought a moment. "Fine. Call it a training mission then. If you recall the mission plan, we were planning to do RAR like this anyway. We were going to simulate a post-tsunami rescue from a capsized sailboat. Do you remember that? The plan was to have four simulated victims in the water, one with a broken leg? Our men were going to train on the CH-35E and run the recovery op."

"Kurosawa.."

"Good grief, I helped procure the sailboat for that op myself! It's the same thing!"

"But this isn't a simulation."

"I know that! That is why I carefully set these things up to be as realistic as possible. This is actually easier."

"No, I'm sorry. Unless I have received authenticated orders from PACCOM, no helicopters are leaving this ship until we drop anchor at Busan. That's final."

Kurosawa realized that he was dealing with a bureaucrat, one that only followed orders. It was because the USNS was mainly a civilian service, and the kinds of officers that showed initiative or courage under fire were of a different breed.

Kurosawa understood. This was the kind of bureaucrat that he had often confronted in many large organizations, including his own.

He turned to Bakou. "Get me my satellite phone."

42 minutes later, after Kurosawa called the Minister of the Navy (whose daughter Kurosawa had helped save in the Tohoku disaster), who then contacted US NAVSEC, who then sent an order to PACCOM, which was then communicated via MILNET to the Mercy's chief communication officer, who then rushed the authenticated orders to the captain, that a CH-35E Super Stallion rose into the air and headed back along the Mercy's straight-line path with Bakou and a JSDF RAR team on board.

* * *

Inaba looked out of the window. She saw a large black limo drive up. She recognized it as one of her father's.

Inaba went outside and waited for the casket to be taken out. It was because Japanese law required that the nearest next of kin identify the body.

Aoki emerged from the limo's middle door, while the driver got out and opened the back.

Then a second person emerged from the middle door.

It was Taichi. He was still wearing a blanket.

Taichi wasn't sure how Inaba would react. She would certainly run to him. And then? Would she collapse in his arms crying with joy? Or would she smile first, then hug him?

She did none of those things.

She simply walked up to him as Iori watched from a respectful distance.

"You.. you stupid.. dumb.. idiotic.. bastard."

"Inaba, I'm sorry."

"How many times have I told you to be careful? How many times have I said, 'Taichi, watch out. Taichi, think before you leap.' But no, you did it anyway."

Inaba spoke in a low monotone.

"I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back."

He blinked his eyes.

She quickly jumped into the middle seat of the limo and closed the door behind her. She leaned forward, "Drive."

And before Taichi or anyone else could react, the limo drove into the distance and was gone.

Taichi finally collected his wits and started running. "Inaba! Stop! Come back!" He kept running until it was no use. Then he stood there.

Iori finally caught up with him.

Iori said quietly while standing behind him, "Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. She's at the bottom of her depressive cycle."

Taichi turned to face her. "I know. She needs time alone. She'll get better. She always has. We just have to be patient and wait."

Iori gave him a look he had never seen before. She was cold as ice.

"No, not this time. You still don't get it, do you? Your dumb act of heroism has confirmed her worst fears. You should have died, but you didn't. She knows that next time you will succeed in getting yourself killed."

"I know.. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough this time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this."

Iori slapped his face with a palm strike, as hard as she could.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Taichi spun backwards from the blow and fell over.

Iori stood over him, unrelenting in her verbal attack. "Do you know how hard she tried to save you? To save your life? Do you have any _idea_ what she sacrificed to try to protect you from yourself?"

He sat up and numbly shook his head. A large bruise was already spreading on his left cheek.

Iori's voice steadily rose in anger. "Well I'll tell you. She sold her soul to the devil to save you from yourself. And then she gave up her firstborn child. All for you!"

He looked up at her in confusion. "What? A child?"

"All that, and despite all her pleading, all her begging, you still thoughtlessly threw your life away! You think you're a hero? You're not. You're a thoughtless prick. Inaba sacrificed everything she had for you: her life, her child, even her soul. You want to know what she plans to do? She plans to stage an 'accident' to give that demon what it demanded: her firstborn child. You wouldn't know it was actually her suicide so you wouldn't feel guilty when she died and took her baby with her. Then she thought you'd end up with me."

"She's.. pregnant?"

"Yes! And that was the price she paid to try to save you: first her baby, and now herself. All for you. At first I thought she was just going to hide her abortion, but she realized that Number Three would somehow arrange for you to discover her deed after the fact. So your marriage would be destroyed no matter what. And I was just as trapped as she was. I couldn't say anything. If I told you beforehand, Inaba would still do it to save you. And of course I would never say anything afterward. Either way, the marriage would still be destroyed. Number Three's gambit was perfect. She made sure all three of us were screwed no matter what.

"And after your wife was gone for good? Inaba thinks I'll take her place and try to save you because I love you. But I won't. I won't because I know that I'd fail just like she did, because sooner or later - probably sooner - you will do another stupid suicidal rescue attempt, and you will succeed and get yourself finally dead.

"And then I'll give up. Actually, I already have given up. I know there's no point in my trying to save you. Nobody can. I'll drift aimlessly back to my wreck of a life, and I'll spiral down because I don't care anymore. Eventually my dead and violated body will be found in a ditch somewhere, and that will be it. All three of us will be dead, and the devil will have won.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have told you she was pregnant. I shouldn't have told you she is going to secretly kill herself and make it look like an accident instead of aborting your child. She's doing it to protect you from all that guilt. Inaba thought I was bluffing and wouldn't actually tell you what she intended to do. She thought I would never tell you, to protect you from the terrible truth, to prevent you from blaming yourself for her blood sacrifice.

"She was wrong. Why? First, because a [bleep] like you doesn't deserve that kind of protection. And second, because I care for her in ways you'll never understand.

"Yaegashi, you're pathetic. Inaba is leaving your life. I quit too. Goodbye."

"Iori..?"

"Inaba is gone. I can't stop her. And don't try to stop me either. And you know what? Before all three of us die in this [bleep]ed-up tragedy, I just thought you might like to know: It is all your fault."

And with that, Iori turned and left.

And Taichi just stood there.

* * *

Taichi was kneeling in his bedroom.

Only a dim light peered through the open window from the cloudy sky.

"Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. A foolish, stupid, selfish sinner. And I don't know how to change. Please, Lord, change me. I can't do it myself. I here and now repent for my sins, and believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I believe that Christ died for me, as my substitute, and rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. Thank you Lord, for sending Your Son, and paying my debt in full. Even though I was separated from You by my sins, You saw me laying helpless on that raft, and You loved me enough to bring me home, and even die for me on that Cross. I believe that Jesus suffered the penalty of my sins, and paid the full price to clear my debt for my foolish and stupid actions. Your Word declares His Precious Blood, sinless and Divine, pays for all of my sins. Because He suffered my penalty, I am now free."

The clouds broke and a shaft of light appeared. And then Taichi looked up at it.

"Please Lord, I ask for your forgiveness, and I now receive Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior. Today, I accept Your gift of love, mercy, peace, and eternal life. I declare by faith that Jesus Christ, the living bridge, the connector of the finite to the infinite, now lives within me. I am a new creation in Christ, born of God with the life of Jesus in me. I trust the blood of Christ blots out every sin from my life. My record is clean by Your mercy. According to Your Word, I am now forgiven, I am now saved.

"Please allow the Holy Spirit to enter my heart, to send to me that still, small, voice so that I may hear it, to act wisely and with purpose, to not rashly go like a fool into danger with my selfish desires to save everyone without thinking, but instead guide me to serve You and Your plan for me. Help me to make amends to all the people I have so grievously harmed, to my wife, to Iori, Yui, Aoki, to everyone. I accept the gift that You offer, which is a debt that I can never repay, as I turn everything over to You, all that I have and all that I am, as you lead me and guide me, and enter my heart and take control of my life."

He looked down from the window towards the floor. And then, slowly, he lowered his head, further and further, all the way down to the hardwood floor until it touched. And he kept it there and did not move.

He was silent.

After another minute he lifted his head again.

He was smiling as he looked up at the illuminated window.

He spoke softly, "Thank you."

He did not notice the person who was quietly standing at the bedroom door that was still partially open behind him.

Iori silently closed the door and remained in the hallway. Taichi did not see her. She stood there, reflecting on what she had just seen and heard.

* * *

Iori entered the hotel room.

Inaba was sitting on the bed. She looked up. "How did you find me?"

"You forgot to turn off the GPS on your phone. Your father had to pull in some favors from somebody inside of NTT."

"Figures." Then she added, "And I bet you tricked the desk clerk into giving you a card key."

"Yep."

"Wait.. Iori, you talked to my father?"

"I did. You know, he's actually a rather nice guy."

"You actually met him? In person?"

"Yeah. Say, he's kind of cute. Is he single?"

Inaba rolled her eyes. "Iori, stop it."

"Uh, sorry, heh. I crack bad jokes when I'm nervous."

Inaba gave her a wan smile. "Still, I'm glad you're here. Last visit to the condemned prisoner and all that, eh? Hey, I got an idea. What do you say we go bar hopping and get smashed?"

"As appealing as that sounds, that is not why I'm here. And besides, it's not good for your baby."

Inaba remained quiet. Iori understood the implication. It would not matter.

Finally she said. "It's hopeless."

Iori sat on the bed. "I know, honey. Rina really screwed you over. All of us. I feel terrible about it."

Inaba sighed, "How do you think I feel? It's over. Rina has won."

Silence.

"Dereban, I've been thinking about this endlessly, going over it in my mind, over and over, and I don't see any way out either. Given the way Rina has set this whole thing up, there is no escape."

"You are right, there's none."

More silence.

Iori leaned closer. "But then it hit me. Rina's method. How she operates."

"Which is?"

"Don't you see it? She divides us, separates us. That's what she does."

"And she's done a damn fine job of it."

"Yes, she has. Which is why I told Taichi everything."

Inaba was horrified. "You what!?"

"I did. I told him the whole thing: I told him that you were pregnant, that you had been tricked into pledging to abort your baby, and that you were planning to have a fatal accident to hide it."

Inaba jumped up from the bed. "Iori, stop joking! Tell me you didn't!"

Iori replied calmly, "I did. Just sit back down and relax.."

Inaba remained standing. "But.. but why?"

"I told you. I did it to break down the barrier that Rina had cleverly constructed between you and him and between you and everyone else."

Inaba was in shock.

"No.."

"Dereban, relax, sit. It will be okay. We are going to work on this together: you, me, Taichi, Yui, Aoki, heck maybe even Heartseed himself. We are all going to work together to help you. It's the only way to defeat them, you know that. We've done this before, and we'll do it again now. We only win when we work together."

Inaba was becoming increasingly distraught. "But.. but.. how can I ever face Taichi..."

Iori yawned on the bed and then looked at her nails placidly. "So what? That's kind of a moot point now, correct? I mean, you announced right in front of me and the whole world that you were leaving Taichi for good. So who cares, eh? I mean, it doesn't matter now, right?"

"I don't believe you.. please tell me this is another bad joke.."

Iori became serious again. "I did tell him. I really did. Look, Dereban, I had to stop you. You were right, it was hopeless. We were completely boxed in by Rina's plan."

Iori leaned forward, her face earnest. "But you know what? A long time ago I learned that sometimes the best way to solve a puzzle is to simply smash it." She smiled. "So I did."

Inaba was getting bitter. "Yeah, and so you burned all my bridges and made it impossible for me to go back to him now."

"Dereban..."

Inaba's face became dark. "So now you get to have what you want, yes? To boot me out for good so that you'd have another shot at him? I can't believe you actually told him. I thought you were my friend..."

Now it was Iori's turn to get upset. She stood up. "I am your friend! Inaban, you had planned this whole match-making scenario, not me. You were the one who was going to secretly bump yourself off in an accident, and then, after he had finished mourning, that he and I would ultimately get together again. You set this whole thing up yourself. You wanted me to have him!"

Inaba shouted back, "You're wrong! I didn't!"

"Huh? What do you mean? Of course you want me to have him. You said it yourself!"

"No, don't you see? I was doing it for him, not you. For him! You idiot, it could have been Setouchi, it could have been Kurihara, it could have been any girl. You just happened to be the one he likes best!"

Silence.

Iori said softly, "Dereban, I did it for you, not for me. For you. He still loves you. In fact, he loves you now more than he ever did."

Inaba shook her head as she sat on the bed. "That's impossible. He's just saying that. Mr. Goody Perfect is just putting up a brave front because of his absurd capacity for self-sacrifice. He only loves me out of his sense of duty now. Our marriage is finished."

Iori said quietly, "No, it's not. And he will never try to throw away his life like that ever again."

"He said that? He promised that?"

"Yes, he did."

Inaba was even more bitter. She looked down. "Then don't believe it. Oh, he believes that promise himself, I'm sure. It's just that I know that people cannot change their fundamental nature like that. Sooner or later he'll revert true to form. The character flaw in him is basic. It's intrinsic. I know him well enough. He can never change."

Inaba looked up again. She was calm.

Then she looked at her best friend. "Iori, I can't save him. Nor can you. Nobody can."

"I know. But we don't have to.."

Iori sat down on the bed with her.

".. because he's already been saved."

"What?"

"I actually saw it happen, I think. I'm not sure what it was, exactly."

"Huh? What did he do?"

"He kneeled and prayed."

"Prayed?"

"I actually saw it. Whatever it was, it was real. He's changed. I could tell."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know people. I can read them. I can practically read people's thoughts as they think them. It's why I'm so good at fooling people. And believe me, he's changed. He won't try to recklessly throw away his life anymore."

"But how did he change? What happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Like I said, he prayed. Aloud."

"Aloud? What did he say?"

"He admitted he was a sinner, that he didn't know how to change, and asked God to let Jesus enter his heart and help him make amends."

Inaba was incredulous. "He became a Christian? I don't believe it." Then she did a facepalm. "Wait, this is Taichi we are talking about. Of course he's a Christian now. Oh that's just great. That is so classic Taichi. He helps people, Christians help people, so he wants to be one. Of course. But he'll revert, Just wait and see. He'll go back to his old ways. It's just a phase."

Iori shook her head. "No, I don't think this is some temporary thing. I think he has changed, and for good."

"You think that a near-death experience can do that? Transform a person, I mean?"

"It can..." Iori absently touched her wrists. "But, in Taichi's case I think it was something more, something external to himself. It was powerful. There was some.. force.. in the room with him. I could sense it. Invisible."

"You mean like Heartseed?"

"No, something else. Something I've never seen or felt before. I.. I don't know what it was."

"Wow, if it knocked even you for a loop it had to be something."

"Yeah, it was."

The women were silent. Then Iori interlocked her fingers with Inaba's.

"Taichi won't stray again. He loves you. Come home."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Kurosawa was on his headset talking to Taichi, who was sitting at Inaba's PC. Kurosawa's face in the Skype window was grave. "Yaegashi, thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome sir. And thank you again for saving me. I know you are really busy right now."

Taichi could see some men running back and forth behind Kurosawa on the screen. "Think nothing of it. I'd do that for any of my people. And yes I'm busy, but I do have a few minutes to spare at the moment. Now Yaegashi, listen carefully. Based on what you told me, I think your wife is under attack. A strong spiritual attack."

"A spirtual attack?"

"Yes. A big one."

It was not surprising to Kurosawa. There was a famous story that C.S. Lewis had written, called the _Screwtape Letters_ , that explained why. The novel consisted of a series of letters written by a senior demon named Screwtape to his underling, advising him on how to best capture the soul of a young person living in London, who is only called 'the patient'. Screwtape explained to his underling that he should expend his efforts only upon individuals that teeter on the edge. There was no point in wasting resources on souls they already safely owned, only those they think they might lose.

Kurosawa said, "I'm not going to sugar coat this, Yaegashi. Your wife is under an all-out assault, a no-holds-barred attack by the Enemy, and they are using every weapon at their disposal. They must think they might lose her, and she is somehow important to them, so they are working on her as hard as they can. That includes exploiting her mental weaknesses, like her bipolar disorder and her depression. Both can make a person quite vulnerable to the Enemy's temptations and lies. Depression can be particularly nasty that way. In your wife's case, I suspect they are due to a physical problem, an imbalance of neurochemical transmitters in the brain like norepinephrine and serotonin."

"Just tell me what to do."

"You need to wage a counter-attack against the Enemy's assault. Fight back both on the spiritual and physical level. First, admit that much of this is frankly your fault, due to your own foolish actions. Pray for forgiveness and wisdom. Then get her to see a psychiatrist. I know in our country there is a huge stigma about that, but make her go anyway. Get her the meds she needs. And pray for her unceasingly. Ask for help for her protection. Use Psalm 23 for starters."

Taichi was already familiar with it.

_The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want._

_He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters._

_He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake._

_Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me;_

_Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me._

_You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows._

_Surely your goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.*4_

"Use that Psalm, or use your own words. Try to do it with her if you can. She'll probably be quite skeptical of course, but that doesn't matter. That's because in your corner of the ring you have the strongest combatant of them all, and so pray unceasingly for her*5. And it will help you as well. You will learn great and hidden things that you have not known before.*6 Remember, if you ask anything according to His will, He will hear you*7. Whatever you ask for in His Spirit will be done*8."

"But what should I say? I'm not a great speaker. I don't know how to use fancy words."

"Then don't try. We don't know how to pray as we ought, but that's okay because the Spirit that is within us will intercede for us and translate our groanings that are too deep for words*9. Just let it come naturally."

"All right."

Kurosawa looked down and was doing something on his tablet off-screen. "I'm putting you on paid administrative leave effective immediately. When I get back I'll send you the contact information for a psychiatrist in Yokohama that I can recommend. He's very busy of course so it might take a while." It was because, like all psychiatrists in Japan, it would normally take months to get a first appointment. "When you do, use my name; it should help speed things up."

"Thank you sir."

"Go to your wife. Be with her. Pray for her. Ask for help in saving her. And I will be praying for her and you as well."

"Thank you so much. You might have saved her life."

"Just get going. Signing off."

Kurosawa removed his headset.

_Lord, please be with them both._

* * *

Later that day Inaba returned home with Iori. She just stood in the entryway, not knowing what to do. Taichi ran to her. She looked down. He then hugged her as hard as he could. As they began their tearful reconciliation, Iori silently left. She motioned Aoki and Yui to leave with her and give the couple some time alone.

And so they did.

Taichi and Inaba were reconciled. Inaba would keep her baby, and they would face together whatever challenges Rina threw at them. The Pentagon was united. They knew that the blood contract protected them all until the birth actually took place, so they had time to prepare.

The days passed. Inaba often went on long walks outside with Taichi.

Yui and Aoki's relationship was growing. Aoki and Yui often went on their own long private walks as well, with Aoki pushing Yui's wheelchair along the paved walking paths whenever she became too tired to continue on foot.

One day at the dinner table, Inaba noticed that Aoki was wearing a paper bread-twisty that was wrapped around his ring finger. Inaba leaned into Taichi and got him to spot it, then motioned at Yui. He saw that Yui was wearing one too.

He made the connection between the couple. Taichi and Inaba smiled at each other and didn't say anything.

One day the doorbell rang. Iori answered it.

It was Daisuke Inaba.

She beamed at him. "Inaba-sama! Welcome! Please come in."

The large man entered the foyer. Iori saw that he was still wearing his _hakama_. She guessed that he had come straight from a meditation session with Baso without changing out of his traditional clothes first. His face was somber. He glanced around. "Is my daughter here?"

"No, sorry sir. She and Taichi are out on a walk somewhere. They should be back soon."

"I see. Well, since I know how close of a friendship you have with my dear daughter, perhaps it's best that I talk to you first then."

"About what?"

"About these."

He showed her the photographs. Underneath them were annotations.

Iori was unhappy. "You've been spying on us."

He shook his head. "Not here, not in this mansion. I assure you that no surveillance equipment has been placed inside this building. My operatives took photos only outside, long distance, in public areas. Nothing more."

"But what about this pic?" Iori pointed at the photo.

He looked at it. "That was taken earlier, from another building. Yaegashi did not close the drapes."

He looked down. "I am ashamed that my operative recorded the audio as well, but only that one day. It was accidental."

Iori put her hand behind her head. "Hoo boy. Inaban is going to blow a gasket when she finds out.."

He continued to look down. "I know. This is very difficult for me as well. It is why I came here in person, to try to explain to my princess.. to apologize."

Then he looked up. "But maybe you could do it better than I could.."

Iori understood. "Sir, please allow me to talk to her first. I will explain it on your behalf." Iori took the photos and the USB thumbdrive from him.

The owner of Inaba Textiles and Trading bowed. "Thank you. Afterwards I will apologize to her in person as well. Ms. Nagase, I am in your debt."

_Yes, you are._

Iori smiled. "Oh, it's nothing."

"She is the most precious thing that I have in this sad and suffering world. Please take care of her."

Iori said somberly, "I will. We will."

"Thank you."

He left.

Then Yui approached Iori on her steel arm canes. "Iori, was that Inaba's father?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

Iori then noticed the concerned expression on Yui's face. "So what's up?"

"I need to show you something. Come with me."

Yui escorted her to the PC in the sitting room. Aoki was standing nearby with his hands in his pockets. He looked despondent. Anzu was trying to comfort him.

Yui pointed at the small article on the screen. Iori started to read it. Meanwhile Yui looked at the man who gave her the paper promise ring.

Iori saw that she was getting angry with him. "Aoki, why didn't you tell me?"

"I.. I.."

Meanwhile, Iori leaned forward and read the three paragraphs in the browser window. She stood up straight again and stared into space.

Then her cool calculating mind went into overdrive.

Aoki saw her staring at nothing. "Iori? Are you okay?"

Then she turned and faced them all again.

"I got it."

Then she smiled. "Of course."

She kicked herself. She figured out a way to defeat Number Three. It was so obvious, so simple. The solution was there in front of them whole time. It was right there from the beginning. They all missed it.

She knew.

Iori started to run out.

Yui was getting more upset. "Iori, wait! Come back! Explain this first!"

Daisuke's large limo was still parked outside. He was sitting in the back, busy talking on his cell phone.

He spotted her running towards him. He rolled down the back window of the limo.

Iori was out of breath. "Sir!"

He said kindly, "Yes, Ms. Nagase?"

"Can you please do me a favor?"

"Of course. Anything."

* * *

Taichi, Inaba, Iori, Yui, and Aoki were taking a pleasant stroll together along an old bumpy pathway towards the temple. All except Yui that is, who was back in her wheelchair with Aoki pushing it. She was too emotional for walking.

Yui again apologized to Aoki. "I'm sorry for getting so upset with you."

"It's all right."

They walked among the stones. The path was a bit bumpy for the wheelchair, so they went slowly. Iori was in the lead, followed by Taichi and Inaba, with Yui and Aoki taking up the rear.

Inaba put her arm around Taichi.  As they watched the orange sun slowly sink she said to him wistfully, "It's so pretty out here, particularly with the sunset."

"Yes, it is."

"This was a nice idea, returning back to where we got married."

"Yeah." They continued to walk among the stones.

The path split. They turned to the right.

She pointed. "Wait, the temple is the other way."

"I know."

"Where are we going?"

He remained silent.

Then they stopped.

Yui started crying.

Inaba grew concerned. "Yui, what's wrong?"

Inaba did not notice that Iori had approached Inaba from behind. She was holding a manila folder. She began to remove something from it.

Taichi wrapped his arm tightly around his wife. "I've been praying for you every day. Just remember that He loves you, and I love you. We all do. Never forget that."

Inaba became alarmed. "What the hell is going on?"

She whirled and faced Iori. "This is one of your tricks, isn't it? You duped me into coming here, just like on that trip back to Yamaboshi Academy."

"Dereban, I'm sorry."

"What? Just tell me."

Iori looked at the others. Taichi nodded. She pointed.

Inaba looked where she was pointing.

The tombstone stood in front of them. It read, 'Ryuuzen Gotou, 19xx-20xx.'

Iori spoke softly. "He died almost a year ago in a traffic accident."

"But.."

Iori held her hand. "I'm sorry. Heartseed hasn't come back."

_No.._

"He only existed in your head. Inaban, he's not real.."

_No.._

Iori pulled out her smartphone. "Your father accidentally recorded a conversation between you and Rina when you made that pact against Heartseed in the hotel suite. Listen."

She pushed a button on her smartphone. Inaba heard herself talking to Rina.

_"Yeah, I'm an atheist. Big deal. So what?"_

_"Then why not offer me your soul, then? What harm is there in offering me something that you claim does not exist?"_

_"Because.. no.. I've seen some pretty weird stuff that I can't explain. Things like Heartseed, like you."_

_"Well, nevermind then. It's not important. I apologize for the distraction. I want something else anyway."_

_"Wait, why?"_

_"Because I'm not particularly interested in your gracious offer."_

_"Why not? Low quality or something?"_

Iori pushed a button and stopped the playback.

The first voice was Inaba's.

So was the second voice.

The second voice had a lower pitch and spoke with a quasi-British accent, but it was definitely the same person speaking.

Inaba was talking to herself.

"I called Yamaboshi Academy and checked. Rina was on a bus field trip that morning. There were over 30 witnesses."

Iori showed her the photos of the encounter. Inaba could be seen walking back and forth. She was gesticulating with her hands. She was clearly carrying on a conversation with an imaginary person.

"Dereban, you need help."

_No.._

Iori looked down. "Yui was the one who finally spotted the obituary notice in the online archive of the local newspaper. At first she thought we were all hiding his death from her and so she got upset, particularly at Aoki." She sighed, "We really should have caught this sooner. It was so obvious in hindsight."

 _Sitting alone in the far back there were no other witnesses to his presence. Except for the bride's weird behavior, there would be no evidence that he was ever there. Everyone else would think he was nothing but a figment of her imagination._ [Ch1]

 _There was not a single witness. I looked myself. He wasn't there. Baso didn't see him either. Nobody saw him!_ [Ch2]

 _Look, we specifically instructed the ushers to be on the lookout in case he showed up. You remember that? To watch for him. They swore to a man they never saw him in attendance at the wedding._ [Ch2]

 _And she crashed right in to Mr. Go... But there she was, standing **alone** in the pouring rain, utterly pathetic, with strangers staring at this scorned woman in a white wedding dress... Mr. Go walked away._ [Ch3] (He was never there.)

 _It was because she now sensed someone sitting in the booth opposite her._ [Ch6] (He simply materialized.)

 _She fumbled at the phone and read the message. It confirmed it._ [Ch6] (Heartseed never said what happened.)

 _The door slammed shut behind Rina. From Inaba's angle it was clear that it was **not touched by anybody**. It made Inaba jump._ [Ch10] (She only imagined the door slamming shut.)

 _From his angle, [Bakou] did **not** see the door slam. He could tell that the action at the hotel was finished for the time being._ [Ch10] (He could see the door.)

 _Surely you must be grateful for the little miracle that I requested on behalf of Kiriyama and Aoki, yes?_ [Ch11] (Heartseed admitted he did not do it himself.)

 _So what is your 'test' this time, anyway? ... The test this time is a very simple one. I want to see what would happen if I brought the five of you back together again._ [Ch11] (Heartseed always created supernatural phenomenons. There wasn't any this time.)

 _But he hasn't disclosed to us the phenomenon yet. And don't you find that just a little bit weird? In the past he has always explained to us up-front about whatever crazy crap he intended to inflict on us._ [Ch15]

 _From the bedroom window of the apartment Iori thought she could just barely make out Inaba sitting on a bench on the far side of the park._ [Ch16] (Iori saw Inaba talking aloud, standing up, then falling on her knees in front of an invisible Rina. At the time, Iori had assumed that Inaba was having some kind of inner debate with herself and did not realize that she was hallucinating.)

 _Go to hell. Too late._ [Ch17] (Number Three is a demon, one that existed only inside of Inaba's mind.)

 _Can you tear up my contract for me? No. Can you stop her? No. Can you save Taichi? No. ... You are no help at all._ [Ch18]

 _[Inaba] had locked herself in the empty eighth bedroom on the third floor. Heartseed visited her again. "Hello, Inaba. I sensed that you wanted to see me."_ [Ch21] (Inaba did not unlock the door.)

Taichi said softly to her, "I talked on the phone to a psychiatrist that my boss recommended. He said that he couldn't make a diagnosis without seeing you in person, but he suspects that you probably have paranoid schizophrenia. Split personality disorder."

Inaba felt light-headed. The world began to recede.

Taichi held his wife up. "It's okay. I love you; we all do. We'll take care of you. We'll all help you. All of us together."

The world shrank down to a narrow tunnel. Her head felt very large.

Then the world shrank down to a point. She collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Inaba!"

_Dereban, come back!_

_I believe you! You're not crazy!_

_Come back!_

* * *

Inaba was spinning in nothingness.

She heard unseen laughter.

Then she heard a female voice. It was low and oily.

"You see, Inaba, I kept my promise. Heartseed is simply a delusion, like me. We are only different aspects of your own schizophrenic mind. And so Heartseed is now impotent, and my promise is now kept. He can never harm you and your friends ever again. You see?"

Inaba asked as she continued to spin, "But.. but why would I invent you two.."

"Isn't it obvious? You did it to rationalize away your guilt, to blame an external malevolent force to justify your own selfish actions. And so you re-created Heartseed in your mind to wreck your own wedding. It was because you were having second thoughts and wanted to back out of it. Later you invented Rina to justify the abortion. Your subconscious mind already realized that you were pregnant. All the signs were there: the tiredness, the nausea, the vomiting. And so you created me and invented that foolish agreement. It should have been obvious that my pact with you was a trap. A child could have seen it. It was something you would never had fallen for. You were merely using it as an excuse to blame someone else for your decision to go ahead with the abortion."

_No.. No.._

More laughter.

The spinning stopped. Inaba opened her eyes.

She was standing on a perfectly flat and empty glassy white plane that appeared to stretch off infinitely in all directions.

"What is happening to me?"

A voice answered. It was male.

"Your blood pressure and heart rate are both dangerously elevated due to the massive flood of adrenalin, cortisol, and other stress hormones that your body has just released. Your vascular system is being overwhelmed. As a result, the right carotid artery in your neck, the one that provides the blood supply to the right temporal lobe of your brain, has just spasmed shut."

"You mean.."

"Yes. To not put too fine a point on it, you are dying. You are having a massive stroke, a transient ischemic attack (TIA). It's a kind of stroke that is not due to the blockage of the artery by a chunk of cholesterol, a blood clot, or some other obstruction, but rather a pinching-shut of the artery wall itself. The right temporal lobe of your brain is now being starved of oxygen."

"So I'm dying, then."

"Yes. If the artery remains shut for five more minutes you will begin to suffer irreparable brain damage. A few more minutes after that you will be dead."

"I only have five minutes."

"Yes. Would you like to chat?"

She looked at Heartseed. He was dressed and looked like Gandalf in _The Lord of the Rings_.

She frowned. "Not like that."

He looked like Dumbledore in _Harry Potter_.

She said simply, "No."

He sighed and changed again. Now he looked like Iori.

"No. Oh, wait.. you know, that actually works. Okay, use that."

"Very well."

Inaba walked up to him. "So, is Rina correct about me? Am I just crazy? Schizophrenic?"

He shrugged, "Well, that is for you to decide."

"C'mon, just tell me."

"Think about it. If I said that I was real, that you were sane, it could just be another instance of your own mind rationalizing its own wants and desires. Nothing I can say can convince you one way or another."

She crossed her arms. "Feh, you really are indeed useless."

He said, "Well, if it is any consolation, would you like to know the phenomenon this time?"

"I thought it was your bringing us back together again. You said it was an experiment, to see what would happen if we all lived together."

"True, that was a major component of my little experiment, but it was not the phenomenon."

"It wasn't?"

"No. There is always a phenomenon. And yet none of you spotted it. You still haven't."

"Ok, I'm game. So tell me, what is the name of the phenomenon this time?"

"The phenomenon is called **Mind Split**. I wanted to see how long it would take for your group to figure out that you had a split personality."

"That is so lame." Inaba felt that 'Mind Split' had to be a self-rationalization of her condition. "And so stupid. I must really be schizophrenic."

Heartseed ignored her. "I was a little disappointed that Kiriyama figured it out from the obituary article. I was hoping they would catch on from your behavior, and the fact that no one else ever saw me, and the fact that there was no phenomenon present even though I clearly told you - and from you to them - that one was in progress."

"All right, fine. Is it over now?"

"Yes, the phenomenon has ended."

"And yet you are still here."

"Ah, you caught that. Very good."

"Wait, how much time do I have left? You said only five minutes."

Heartseed explained, "Time is stopped in this place." Then he added, "Of course, you'll just have to take my word on that."

"I'll have to chance it. All right, so tell me then, is it true that none of your so-called random phenomenons - hito, kizu, kako, michi, nise, and yume - were actually truly random?"

"No, they were not."

"Thought so. In fact, you picked the moments to trigger all those phenomenons to maximize their effect on us to achieve your goals. Am I correct again?"

"Yes. You benefited greatly. I was quite pleased. You five students were my favorite of all my subjects at Yamaboshi. Over all the years that I ran my experiments in that school, I liked you the most."

"Why?"

"Because you were the most interesting, of course."

"There's that word again. 'Interesting'. So how exactly are we so interesting to you weird creatures?"

Heartseed made a small smile. "Ah. Well. That question goes rather deep. You might as well ask 'Why does God allow evil?' or 'Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?' ..."

"Okay, fine. So why does He do that?"

"I think you are better off asking your husband that one."

"Okay, fine, whatever."

She recrossed her arms. "So who exactly are you anyway? An alien? A demon? An angel? What?"

Heartseed considered her new question. Then he said, "Well, I was a member of a certain club at one time. Then I was kicked out, you see."

"Kicked out of the club?"

"Yes. My methods were considered too direct. Sometimes I liked to bend the rules. They told me to stop, that the ends do not justify the means. But I disagreed. You see, I believe that orienting people to connect with Him is so important, so critical, that I should be allowed to use any means necessary to make it happen. I explained that the Enemy was not bound by such niceties, so we should not be either." He sighed, "But they did not see it my way. So I went ahead and broke the rules to achieve my ends. To say they were unhappy with me is an understatement. And so I was kicked out. I then moved in to Number Two's and Number Three's neighborhood. Frankly, it is not a nice part of town. I have to keep my doors locked at night."

"Very funny. So what about Number Three? Is she still around?"

"Regrettably yes. And she has quite thoroughly neutered me."

"How so?"

"Well, now that you know I only exist in your mind, I can no longer make you see my presence in the real world, nor can I influence you in any way. Well, other than by speaking to you inside your mind like this, that is."

He frowned. "However, your blood contract is quite real, and it is still in force. And because you made that contract, she continues to have power and influence in the real world, including the ability to greatly harm your friends. That is unfortunate."

"Okay, so tell me then, is there any way I can stop Number Three? Defeat her?"

He thought a bit. "Actually, yes, there is."

Inaba asked, "How?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Well, if I told you I would be breaking the rules again.."

She said, "Please? Besides, why should it matter now? You're already busted."

"True. But there are other penalties." He shuddered.

"Okay, fine. So don't break any more rules on my behalf, then. Just give me a hint. You've done that before."

"Also true." He thought for a moment.

"All right. Listen carefully." He spoke quietly. "Names, real names I mean, True Names, have power. Incredible power. Once you address someone or something by its True Name, you own that thing, in a sense. By that I mean you can control it, affect it, manipulate it.*10 Technically it has to do with something called Gödelization, but I won't bore you with the mathematics."

"Whatever. So, to beat Number Three I simply need to know her True Name."

"Essentially, yes."

"But you can't just tell me."

Heartseed sighed, "No, I cannot."

Then he added, "I do want to help you. It is because I dislike Number Three. Very much so."

"Why do you dislike her so much?"

"Because I always play fair; she does not. She plays dirty. She misled and deceived you. I admire you, Inaba, and I do wish to help you, but simply telling you her True Name is very much against the rules."

"Please?"

He considered her request.  No, it was forbidden.

But perhaps a little hint?

Heartseed looked around, then he approached her.

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Remember how I described Rina? The number? She's a demon. Think about it." He stepped back and waited.

Inaba recalled that Heartseed had told her that Number Three was a hive mind that consisted of approximately 5000 distinct individuals. That number tickled her mind. Why was that number significant? It was something historical. Something western..

Inaba closed her eyes tightly as she tried to recall her college class on Western History and Literature. It included a basic study of the Roman Empire. It also included some of the Bible's better known stories. She shut her eyes tighter and concentrated as she tried to remember...

She remembered. Inaba's eyes opened again, then she made a nasty smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

Inaba was standing on a glass of white. She was all alone.

She yelled, "Oh Riiiinnaaaa! Woo hoo!"

Nothing.

"Come out, come out where ever you are!"

She waited some more. Nothing.

"Don't you want to gloat? Don't you want to brag?"

Nothing.

"You coward! Feh, you're such a loser. Heartseed told me you were pathetic. I can see why."

That did it. There there was a rumble as the ground shook, then there was a crack in the glassy white floor. Something dark and evil emerged from the plane of white. It was an irregular stalagmite, a wide and misshapen inverted cone, jutting right out of the glassy floor. It was slimy, wrinkled, and black, with no face or any other discernible human features.

A voice emitted from it, oily and low. It reverberated like the sound of many voices speaking in unison.

It said, "Hello, my dear."

"Wow, you're ugly."

"I told you that you would never see me with Rina's face again."

"Yuk. You stink too. Boy, you are such a skank."

The voice sounded churlish. "Really now.."

Then it added, "Pity you are dying right now. I so much wanted to play with your friends' lives. I'm rather creative that way, you see. It would have been so entertaining for me."

Inaba was resolute. "Guess what? I decided that I am keeping my baby."

The voice sounded even more amused. "Oh? But you are dying, my dear."

"That's right. But I changed my mind. I want to live. I want to be with my husband again. Heck, I'll even listen to his Christian preaching at me all day and night. I'm sure he'll be insufferable but I'll deal with it. He and I are going to have a child."

"Assuming you survive this stroke."

"Yes."

Number Three sounded pleased with herself. "Ooh, I do hope you do. And so fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Yes, I do hope you live... it would be so much more fun that way. But aren't you afraid? Afraid of me? You should be."

Inaba held her ground. She confessed, "Yes, I admit that I am afraid of you. But I decided that, regardless of whether I live or die, I am going down swinging. That's my style. So I'm taking you down with me."

The voice chortled, "Oh really? Do go on."

"You see, Heartseed no longer has any power over me. And so neither do you."

"Come now, my dear.."

"It is just like the story of Rumpelstiltskin. For you see, I figured out your True Name, so I know exactly who you are. Heartseed is only a spirit living inside my mind. Now that I recognize him and know who he really is, I am able to defeat him. He is now powerless."

"But, dear, you are forgetting that you and I have a blood contract. That's different."

"Is it? You're exactly the same thing as him, right? Just another spirit trying to mess with my head, tempting me, making bargains with me? Oh c'mon, it's obvious to me who you are now. Want me to tell you?" Then she added, "Oh, and by the way I want to give you fair warning, I took a semester in Latin."

For the first time the voice wavered. "Please, wait. Listen.."

Inaba ignored the plea.

And then Inaba revealed her trademark nasty grin as she spoke the name of her Enemy aloud.

"You are the the demon of Gadarenes. _Legio mihi nomen est, quia multi sumus._ " *11

Then she added, "So screw you, you ugly bitch."

And then Inaba heard 5000 voices scream in unison, "No!"

The stalagmite shuddered. Then a crack appeared at the base. The crack grew, moving upwards along the length of the irregular black cone. The voices were breaking up too. Inaba now heard several different distinct voices yelling at different pitches and octaves.

They were all yelling the same thing: "The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that!"

Inaba re-folded her arms. "That's kind of ironic coming from you, isn't it?"

Number Three's reaction was violent. The voices kept repeating, "The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that!" And then, in its anger, the right half of the splitting cone plunged so deep into the glassy white floor that its whole side went in, and then in its rage it pulled at its left side so hard that it tore itself in two.

The two halves shook and then fragmented into four pieces. And then those pieces fragmented into eight. Then 16, 32, ... And again. And again. And again. Soon there were five thousand little black pieces laying on the ground like small bits of charcoal, powerless and impotent.

Then the black pieces dried up and blew away

Inaba wiped her hands off. "Well, that was fun."

She turned around. The image of Iori had returned.

Heartseed said, "Well done."

Inaba bowed. "Thank you."

Silence.

Then Inaba looked down. "I'm still dying, aren't I.."

"Sadly, yes. But it appears that someone outside is praying for you very hard right now. Hmm. Let me check. Yes, it seems to be working."

"It is?"

"Yes. The humans have actually done formal scientific studies on the effect of prayer on people who are ill in hospitals. The researchers kept shaking their heads, trying to factor out any biases, doing the studies over again, but it kept on happening. They found it very annoying."

"I can imagine."

Heartseed came to the point. "Inaba, do you want to live?"

She said simply, "Yes, I do."

"All right. Then I will tell you another secret: There is a strong psychosomatic component in the body with regard to its healing, the so-called 'will to live.' It's a very real phenomenon. Just close your eyes. Think about your life, what you still want to accomplish. Think of Taichi praying for you. Think of Him. Think of your loved ones, your friends."

"All right, I'm going to try." She closed her eyes,

Heartseed turned and began to walk away into the white nothingness.

Then she opened her eyes again. "But wait. Will I ever see you again?"

He turned and said simply, "No. Goodbye."

Then Inaba looked down at the white floor. With her head down she said something that surprised herself. "Then, thank you. Thank you for making us who we are. I just wanted you to know that before you left."

She looked up at him again.

It was too late. He was gone.

She re-closed her eyes and squeezed them tightly.

_Taichi, pray for me. I want to learn this secret you discovered. I want to come back. I want to live._

* * *

"Inaban! Wake up! I believe you! You're not crazy!"

Inaba slowly opened her eyes. She smiled weakly. "You believe me.."

Iori smiled, "Yeah, I do."

Taichi was cradling her head. "How do you feel?"

Inaba sat up unsteadily, then she rubbed her sore neck. She had a pounding headache. "I feel like I was in a ten round WWE knock-down drag-out title fight."

Taichi chuckled. He looked up at the others. "I think she's going to be okay."

Inaba looked around. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"So what happened?"

"Well, I kicked Number Three's ass for good. I ripped up her stupid contract. She's gone. We're safe." Then she added uncertainly, "Uh, you do believe all that, right?"

Taichi smiled. "Yes. We do."

"You do? Really?"

Taichi said, "Iori explained it to us. We really do believe you. And I'm not patronizing you or anything like that. Heartseed came back. He was just working on us at another level. Messing with all of us. Through you."

Inaba stared at the tombstone. "So you don't think I'm crazy.."

Taichi hugged her. "No. And I love you even if you are. Yeah, you're always wonderfully crazy: impulsive, hyper, totally unpredictable, with huge anger management issues..."

She gave him a dirty look.

"It's what I love about you, heh. I guess I'm a sucker for tsunderes."

"Very funny."

"Sorry, my love. You're not crazy. I mean, I believe that Heartseed was definitely real and he was working within your mind. I don't believe you are schizo or anything. He was in there, inside your head. It was him. I believe that. I believe you."

Inaba shook her head at him. "Actually, you're wrong. I am mentally ill. I really am. I'm an undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, just like the psychiatrist said."

"But Inaba, wait. I believe that there are higher powers in the world, spiritual ones, that we cannot see or touch, and yet they are very real. Like the ones that were in you..."

She interrupted him. "Yeah. And you're right. Heartseed and Number Three were real." She looked down. "But I still know I'm schizophrenic. It's just how they manifested. They took advantage of my illness, that's all. I know I need professional psychiatric help."

Taichi asked, "You think so?"

"Yeah. But it's going to be okay now because I'll get treatment for it."

She then leaned forward and looked into his soft brown eyes. "I love you so much. I don't deserve you at all."

He smiled at his wife. "No, you don't."

"Hey!" Inaba's eyes flashed in anger and she pushed him away.

Taichi tried to explain. "Relax. I am talking about grace. Grace is something we don't deserve. That's why I prayed for a miracle, for you. You don't deserve one, and I don't deserve one either."

Then he added, "And I don't deserve you. I don't deserve such a firey, energetic, dynamic, outgoing, impulsive, unpredictable, manic, crazy, sexy, beautiful woman who likes to rip the clothes off her husband once in a while." He smiled.

Everyone was watching. Inaba blushed in embarrassment and turned away.

Then she turned back. She grabbed his shirt in her fist. She was wearing her patented Inaba Nasty Grin. "Careful. I might jump you right here in front of everybody."

Now it was Taichi's turn to blush. He nervously tugged at the collar of his buttoned shirt. "Yeah, like you would ever do that."

Aoki got alarmed, "Dude! Don't push her buttons! She'll do it!"

Yui grinned, "He's right, Taichi, you're really asking for it. Tee hee." She looked at her paramour.

Aoki said, "Should I go fetch some popcorn?"

Yui replied, "Good idea. Bring extra."

Inaba let go of her husband's shirt, then she turned to face her teasing friends.

"You clowns just stop it!"

And they all laughed.

 _We still have long lives ahead of us, and I'm sure we'll get lost, or run into obstacles. But we will continue to walk on the path that we've chosen - connecting our hearts in the process._ *12

* * *

_Ten years later_

Inaba was reading some printed reports in her main office at the back of the Sakuraba mansion. Over the years various extensions were added for new sections and work areas. The building was now the center of a major corporate campus with over 300 staff.

She was wearing her wire-rimmed glasses, which were hooked to a small silver chain around her neck. She used them for reading. And for intimidation. She had a small spotlight installed in the ceiling that was carefully aimed at her desk so that she could lean forward and the lenses would turn shiny white. She would then do the famous 'Gendo Ikari pose' and clasp her fingers together under her nose as she intimidated her nervous prey. It worked like a charm every time.

A few minutes earlier, Inaba had closed the holographic Skype window on her desk infocomp, having just finished a pleasant conversation with Iori, who was still living in Texas.

It was because five years earlier, Iori's mother, Reika Nagase, was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Iori had taken her to the Mayo Clinic in the United States to receive a highly experimental cancer treatment. There Reika was at last able to bond with her daughter as they finally reconciled their estranged relationship. Reika told her daughter how much she had regretted her serial relationships with Iori's many step-fathers that had driven Iori into creating her false personas to protect both her mother and herself. They apologized to each other in a teary confession as they bonded together as mother and daughter.

Rekia's cancer went into remission. Iori had told Inaba that she intended to remain in America after her mother returned home. She soon got a job as a Japanese-language instructor at a prep school in Texas. In their most recent conversation, Iori was gushing about the oil wildcatter she had met at a rodeo show.

Miyabi quietly entered the office. Inaba saw that her gray hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing a traditional handmade Hanabishi-Sakuraba kimono. The kimono's color was bluer than indigo*13.

Inaba jumped up.

"Mom!"

Inaba rushed and hugged her adoptive mother and former business mentor, now retired.

Miyabi Inaba hugged back her daughter. "My dear _tora koneko_ *14, how are you this morning?"

"I'm announcing a hostile takeover of Levi-Strauss later today."

"That's nice, dear. Please have some tea." She poured a cup for her daughter.

"Oh, thank you." Inaba sipped it.

Miyabi said, "Another takeover? And so soon. My, your late father would have been proud."

"I'm daddy's little girl all right, heh heh." Then Inaba looked down. "I still miss him."

Miyabi touched her daughter's head. "I know. Your father was a wonderful man. I miss him too. I loved him very much."

Nine years earlier, Inaba's father had moved into the Sakuraba mansion and made it his new home and business headquarters. Inaba and Taichi were already living there permanently, having moved from their small apartment shortly after Inaba's diagnosis of her paranoid schizophrenia. And in that mansion Inaba worked side-by-side with her business mentor, Miyabi Sakuraba, as Daiskue Inaba's daughter gradually assumed his duties and took over the daily operation of Inaba Textiles and Trading.

Inaba never saw her socialite step-mother again, a woman who never lived even one night at the new family home. She instead continued to jetset across Europe. One day she ran off with a young chef in Paris.

And so, over the years, Miyabi had gradually became Inaba's de facto mother as well as her business mentor. It wasn't planned that way. It just happened. Miyabi was visiting the mansion so often that she finally moved in with them. She rejoiced that she was living again in the old mansion that held so many wonderful memories for her when she was younger.

It was Inaba herself who, with Iori's help, had conspired and maneuvered behind the scenes to bring Miyabi and her father together. It took years of plotting and conniving, during which a tumultuous (and sometimes very amusing) courtship ensued, but the secret match-makers were ultimately successful.

And so Inaba finally had what she wanted her whole life: a real family. She had a mother and a father who both cared for her and loved her. And she loved them in return.

Taichi was sitting in a comfortable chair near the sunlit window of the office. He put down his copy of the _Asahi Shimbun_. The headline at the top of the business section read, _The Asian Tigress Roars Again: Wall Street Runs in Terror_.

Inaba walked over with her cup of tea and glanced down at the paper. She tsk-tsked the news article. "That headline is silly. Taichi, I'm not a tigress, am I?"

He stood up and embraced her. "Oh yes. I share my bed every night with a wild tiger. It's a miracle I've survived this long."

While still in their embrace she said, "Growl." Then she kissed him.

Meanwhile, the office door opened. It was Yoshifumi Aoki. Young Kouki was riding on his broad shoulders. They were followed by Noa and Yui.

Inaba saw that Kouki was playing with a model helicopter, while Yui Aoki was cradling little Akio in her arms.

Kouki jumped down from Yoshifumi's shoulders and ran to her mother. "Mom! Look what I made!" He showed Inaba his scale-model CH-35M Stallion helicopter.

She bent over and looked at it. "Ooh, it looks very nice. My, you built that model from a kit all by yourself?"

"Yeah!"

Taichi frowned a bit. "Now look here, Kouki Yaegashi, don't fib to your mother. Uncle Aoki helped you assemble that kit."

"Aw, he hardly did anything. He's such a klutz."

Aoki yelled, "Hey!" Everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, Yui brought little Akio over and handed the bundle to Inaba, who held it and cooed at the adorable infant.

"Yui, your daughter is beautiful."

Yoshi piped up, "And she looks like the spitting image of her mother, don't you think?"

"She certainly does."

Taichi said, "I still can't believe you named her Akio Aoki. I mean, really?"

Yoshifumi smiled. "I know. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Dude, you're gonna make her dyslexic."

Then Inaba looked around. "Wait, where is Noa?"

The shy little girl was hiding behind Taichi's legs. Inaba knelt down. "It's okay. Come out."

The little girl slowly came out, took one look at Yoshi, and ran to her mother and hid behind her legs. Inaba returned Akio to her own mother, then turned and gently picked up Noa. The little girl buried her head in her mother's arms. Her mother held her, rocking back and forth, as she softly sang.

_What is holding our hearts back?_

_I wonder if we can set them free_

_Let's find the truth together_

_Through the open door, we'll head out and never look back_

_We'll be able to see beyond the universe_

_As we soar over the rainbow_

_I can hear our new beginning_ *15

Meanwhile Taichi approached Yoshi and whispered to him, "It's okay. Noa is just really shy. It's not you."

He said sadly, "Yeah, I know."

Taichi looked at their youngest daughter, who was so shy with everyone around her. Noa rarely played with her older brothers, or with any other children for that matter, despite their parents' gentle encouragement. Instead, she loved to play outside all by herself. She would often run into into the woods behind the mansion and play make-believe, with one or both parents or a nanny watching discretely.

There she would come alive. She imagined she was a woodland princess who was swept away into a fantastical realm full of magic and wonder. She saw the birds singing to her in the trees, and so she talked back to them. Then one day she found a squirrel and adopted it, feeding it nuts every day. She named it Daiki and said it was her best friend.

Inaba put her back down on the floor. She quickly ran out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Taichi went after her. "Noa, hey, come back here!"

Inaba sat down again. "Well, I do need to get back to work."

The others followed Taichi out.

Inaba was now sitting alone in her office. She got up and closed the door, then walked back to stand by her desk.

She continued to look at the closed door, seemingly lost in thought.

Mr. Go was standing right next to her.

"It all turned out for the best, don't you think?"

Inaba replied, "I'm still worried about Noa. "

Heartseed said, "She takes after you."

"Yes, she does. That's what worries me."

He turned and looked at her. "Her intelligence is remarkable. Playing the piano, reading books at the 6th grade level, all at age 5. She is a genius. She's surpassing even you at that age."

She smiled. "Yes, she is."

"And some day you will need a successor, after all.."

She turned. "So you will help her, then?"

"Come now, you know I'm not real. I'm only a hallucination. You just need to up your med dosage."

"Still.."

He turned to look back at the closed door. "One day she will receive her own help from Above as she fights her own battles, both spiritual and physical - the same as you did."

"Yes.."

Inaba looked thoughtful as she remembered the past. She knew that the generations would roll on. Perhaps one day her youngest daughter and Aoki's eldest son, who were the same age, might attend Yamaboshi Academy together. And perhaps they will both decide to join the Student Cultural Society. And then?

".. she will."

* * *

My name is Himeko Inaba Yaegashi.

I have been clinically diagnosed with having bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.

I am mentally ill.

I am crazy.

The irony is that I was first correctly diagnosed by a girl who was, in her own way, just as crazy as I am.

And I don't care.

Now, by that I don't mean that I deny it. Oh no. I take my daily dosage of lithium, clonazepam, and risperidone (and Taichi makes sure I do), and it does help. But it doesn't change who I am deep down inside.

I really am like my father now: ruthless in the world of business and high finance, merciless and unforgiving, wheeling and dealing while pitting myself against rival businessmen twice my age. All for the best possible cause.

Taichi is the official chairman of the Yaegashi Charitable Fund. The business skills that I inherited from my father have doubled the size of the fund in less than five years to over 162 billion yen.

Taichi will use the fortune of my keiretsu on humanitarian missions: Against AIDS, against malaria, for Christian outreach, and to spread God's Word to the world, using every resource at our disposal.

Now, I am not sure I believe all that stuff myself yet, but he believes it, so perhaps one day I will as well. I do know that there exist things in this world that are invisible, powerful, and far beyond our comprehension.

Meanwhile, I will continue to use my business acumen to maneuver, plot, wheel and deal. Ultimately I hope to amass a fortune that will one day rival Bill Gates.

For I am the terror of the business world.

And all my enemies flee before me.

That is who I am: The Asian Tiger.

I am a vicious bitch.

I am an utterly vicious bitch.

Because I am insane...

... but not with hate.

With love.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:**

* An even larger version of the CH-53, the CH-53K King Stallion, is currently under development as of this writing.

** Psalm 19:1

*** My ex-Navy SO requires that I make the following disclaimer: The captain of the USNS Mercy in this story is a purely 100% fictional character who was invented only for story purposes. She bears no relationship whatsoever to the actual captain of the Mercy in any way, shape, or form. I am certain the real captain of the Mercy is an outstanding leader of such a fine vessel and is a credit to the service and the uniform. (Please don't hurt me.)

*4 Ps 23, NASB. (Usually I recommend NIV, but I think the NASB translation is better here.)

*5 1 Th 5:17

*6 1 Jn 5:14

*7 Jn 15:7, Jn 14:13

*8 Jeremiah 33:3

*9 Ro 8:26-27

*10 See the SF novella, _True Names...and Other Dangers_ , by Vernor Vinge. The title refers to the fact that if the Feds ever discover your real name and address, your life as a hacker is essentially over. (Much of my detective work for certain agencies was to track down the hackers' True Names.) I think it is one of the best SF novellas ever written. Vinge wrote it way back in 1981 (!) and yet it completely nailed the hacker cowboy culture and the recent militarization of cyberspace by the Chinese, the North Koreans, and now the new US Cyber Command. It underscores just how vulnerable our infrastructure is to this kind of attack. The novella has been out of print for years, however it has recently reappeared at Amazon _._ It has a forward written by Marvin Minsky. Highly recommended.

*11 Number Three's name is Legion. Mk 5:9, Lk 8:30

*12 Episode 17 final narrative (Taichi speaking)

*13 The title of the anime _Ai Yori Aoshi_ translates to English as 'Bluer Than Indigo'. It refers to the fact that the fabric of an indigo kimono gradually turns blue over time due to the reaction of the dyes with the ultraviolet light in sunlight. It is a metaphor for how love deepens over time as the kimono gradually changes color from indigo to blue. (In Japan love is traditionally represented by the color blue, not red. The latter color appears only in western-influenced traditions like Valentine's Day.)

*14 Translation: 'tiger-kitty'

*15 From _Paradigm_ , the first opening theme of the anime.


	23. The Flying Rainbow

**Chapter 23: Epilog: The Flying Rainbow**

_62 years later_

Himeko Yaegashi rolled herself into the living room. A warm blanket on her lap was topped by a sleeping cat, which she petted absently.

She picked up the photo of herself and her friends at their high school graduation. It was a holograph - simulated, of course - but it seemed to make them all come alive. As she held the holograph in front of her, on each of her cuffs could be seen a small silver cufflink in the shape of two intersecting arcs of half-ellipses.

Then her granddaughter entered the room.

Inaba asked, "Did you find it?"

Chika smiled. "Yes, I did. It was at the bottom of a dusty old chest in the attic." She was holding an old bottle that was wrapped in a towel.

She gave the champagne bottle to her grandmother along with a champagne glass.

Then she paused. "Do you wish to be alone?"

"Yes."

Chika left.

Inaba looked at the faded label. It was the bottle that Iori had purchased 52 years earlier, just after her liver began to fail due to her chronic hepatitis B infection. Iori said it was to be opened only by the last surviving member.

Iori had originally purchased the bottle because she thought that she would be the first to go. After all, she was completely ineligible to have a liver transplant in either the United States or in Japan due to her latent infection.

Inaba, of course, would have none of that. She swung into action and used her wealth and her influence to get Iori a liver transplant at a clinic in Mexico. The irony was that Iori, whom everyone had thought was destined to live the shortest life, had actually lived the second longest, 92 years, almost as long as Inaba herself.

Inaba raised her glass in a silent toast.

_To absent friends._

She closed her rheumy eyes as she remembered the highs and lows of their lives. She recalled their battles against Heartseed, then against Numbers Two, Three, and Four. Then there was the battle to save Akio from her own self-destruction, not unlike what had happened to Iori herself. But eventually Akio and Kouki had reconciled, and Chika was the result.

Something was wrong. She felt her head seem to grow very large. It was because the Circle of Willis, the largest artery system within the brain, had hemorrhaged in the back of her head. She dropped the champagne glass on the floor.

And then she breathed in the light.

And that light, that final breath of life, that final breath, her very last on Earth, which was always light, that last breath of light that every mortal breathes in, just as they die, which many people misinterpret as a 'tunnel of light', is actually information.

It is Truth.

It cleansed her.

It perfected her.

It reconciled her soul with God.

Then she saw a marvelous vista.

It was a beautiful sunny day, all blue and bright. A brilliant rainbow-colored ribbon was shooting across the landscape. The tip was moving fast, bending this way and that, leaving behind a brilliant band of color. It rushed past Yamaboshi Academy, then zoomed past the Mosaic Center and its Ferris wheel. Then it suddenly angled upward and shot into the sky.

_As we soar over the rainbow *_

_I can hear our new beginning_

_Let's find the truth together_

_Through the open door, we'll head out and never look back_

_If we connect our vision will clear_

_We'll be able to see beyond the universe_

And there Inaba saw Taichi, Iori, Yui, and Aoki flying in the air. She smiled at them. And they were smiling back at her.

And she saw that they were all young again. And it was real. She knew that this was a real place. It was a place that was actually more real than the world that she was in moments earlier**.

The five of them were soaring and twisting in graceful arcs. They were all wearing their old school uniforms from Yamaboshi Academy. They soared far above the city, circling higher and higher as they shouted with joy. The quintet wheeled and turned like a flock of eagles in the bright sunlight.

And so, in their final High Flight, they flew up and up and up.

For you see, they had slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.

Laughing and shouting with glorious joy, they chased the wind along, and flung themselves through footless halls of air.

As they soared up, Inaba was having a little bit of trouble keeping up with the rest of the group. She faltered a bit. The others turned to watch her. Iori was holding her hand to keep her aloft.

But this time, this time it would be different. It would not end the same way as it did during Inaba's bad dream, the one that she had experienced those many years ago, where Iori had released her hand and allowed her to plummet to her doom.

For again Iori was holding her hand.

But this time, as they soared and wheeled

This time it was different.

This time..

.. she did not let go.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:**

This epilog was inspired by the second ED of Kokoro Connect (episodes 6-10). You can watch ED 2 in a short Vimeo video entitled [Kokoro Connect Ending 2](https://vimeo.com/98116697) (1:28) by Faiz Skyzo. The song played in ED 2 is entitled _Cry Out_.

* The lyrics are excerpted from _Paradigm_ , the song played in the first OP (episodes 1-5).

** For the technical explanation of why I think the afterlife is more 'real' than our own, see my one-shot fic for the film _Interstellar_ (2014), [The Dying of the Light](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2600861)


End file.
